Rusty's Legacy
by reviewgirl911
Summary: Rusty goes to visit his sister and friends one last time. A month later, he's dead. How will they handle their grief? With the help of Rusty's letters to each of them. Set 10 years after graduation.
1. Rusty's Arrival

Rusty Cartwright pulled his luggage to his terminal. He saw his reflection in the mirror. He knew he looked paler and thinner. His cheekbones had suck in a bit, making his face look a bit lifeless. Only Ashleigh and Calvin had actually seen him since the diagnosis took over his life. Like him, they had both decided to stay in Ohio near CRU. Ashleigh had her own successful marketing company, and Calvin was working for a gay awareness organization. Rusty had perfected his wire and won a Nobel Prize for his work on it. He had given an interview he knew he wouldn't live to see in a magazine. Ashleigh had been stubborn, saying that he could stay alive as long he set his mind to it. Rusty felt weaker every day. Calvin had moved into Rusty's apartment to help and keep an eye on him. He made them swear not to tell anyone about what was happening. He wanted to die with being pitied. They only did because he asked them to.

Rusty sat down a metal chair. He dug into his pocket before finding his medication. It had started to have less of an effect on him each day. The doctor said he had a few months to live, but Rusty knew he wouldn't make it that long. The same doctor had also discouraged him from going on this trip. His two best friends begged him not to go, that they'd make up an excuse for his absence. Rusty refused. He wanted to go to Washington DC to see his sister and to celebrate Cappie's 32nd birthday. He wanted to hold his niece and see Dale, who was doing research there. He even wanted to hear Evan and Rebecca insult him. He wanted to say goodbye.

"Flight 15. From Cyprus to DC, boarding now." Rusty stood up. His whole body ached. Rusty swallowed his medication and took a sip of water. He grabbed his luggage and got in line. Ashleigh and Calvin had taken an earlier flight since Rusty had a doctor's appointment. He handed the woman his boarding pass. She smiled and let him go. Rusty found his seat easily. He had a first class ticket, the doctor's orders. Rusty grabbed a Kleenex and started to cough. There was a bit of blood on the tissue. This had become a daily occurrence for him. The women sitting next to him gasped.

"Are you all right?' the women asked. Rusty looked at her. She was around Casey's age with long brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Happens all the time," Rusty answered casually. Ashleigh would've shot him for saying that. She didn't like it when he played down his illness.

"Lung cancer?" the woman guessed. Rusty nodded. "Sorry," she added. Rusty shrugged.

"Dying doesn't bother me," he told her calmly. And it didn't. He'd had a great life, with wonderful friends. There was nothing to be remorseful about.

"You're lucky, then," the women responded sadly. They sat in silence the rest of the plane ride.

The doctor had been wrong. The plane ride didn't drain Rusty. It made him feel free and in control, something he hadn't felt in a while. It reminded him of his days at Kappa Tau. Rusty's main reason for staying in Ohio was that it was home. CRU was his home. He was probably the alumni that visited the most, every weekend. He hung out with the guys and got to know the pledges. He even helped them with the hazing. Rusty had set up a bank account for the KTs so that they'd get part of his estate when he died. He put in his will that they were to rebuild Vesuvius and then they could do whatever they wanted with the rest. He also set one up for his niece, Alana.

Rusty was looking forward to seeing everyone. Casey, Cappie, Dale, Beaver, Wade, Jeremy, Pickles, Ben Bennett, and all the rest of is Kappa Tau brothers. Their pledge class still hung out every few months, but it wasn't enough for them. He couldn't believe he was twenty-nine years old. Some days, he still felt like that nerdy freshman. Others, he felt like that Kappa Tau president. Rusty smiled at those memories. Under his presidency, Kappa Tau achieved the highest grade point average in their history. They also had the most legendary parties.

"We have now landed in Washington DC. Please wait for the signal before taking off your seatbelts." Rusty leaned back into his seat. He felt dizzy, but knew he just needed something to eat. Out of nowhere, a flight attendant tapped him on the shoulder.

"Sir, we have the pilot's request to help you off the plane." she said cheerfully. Rusty undid his seatbelt and stood up. He was in pain, but tried to hide it. The flight attendant smiled. "Right this way sir. We already have all your luggage ready." Rusty wasn't sure why he was getting such good treatment. Was it because of his accomplishments or because he was dying? He followed her out of the plane. He took a shuttle to where Calvin said he would be waiting. He searched around before he saw Calvin's head.

Calvin sighed at the sight of his best friend walking slowly towards him. Rusty kept reassuring them that he didn't feel much pain and didn't need to be confined to a hospital bed. Seeing him this way made Rusty's words sound like a lie. His disease seemed like it was starting to slow him down. Rusty had clung to his usual routine, working and hanging out with him and Ashleigh, and checking up on the KTs. Lately, though, Rusty had finished his latest project and published the results. He hadn't started anything since. Calvin had even found an odd folder in Rusty's office labeled Plans. He had opened it and found Rusty's will and a few bank statements about two new accounts, one in the name of Kappa Tau Gamma and Alana Ashleigh Cartwright. Calvin realized Rusty knew he was dying.

Rusty walked toward Calvin. Calvin hugged him gently and they got in the car. "How are you doing?" Calvin asked his friend. Rusty didn't look good, and this worried Calvin. Over the last few months, Rusty had lost weight and grown paler, but his smiled always remained. Today, it was gone.

"Don't worry. I took some of my medication before I got on the plane. I'll be fine." Rusty assured him. He'd been doing a lot of that lately. He knew he was going to die soon, but he couldn't bear to tell his friends that. If they knew that, they'd tell everyone else.

Calvin nodded. "How much money do you what to bet that Wade shaved his mustache?" he asked.

Rusty's mouth broke out into a smile. "Twenty bucks says he did," Rusty answered. Wade had been growing a mustache on and off since he had been expelled. Last time they had seen him, Wade still had the mustache.

"I'll take that bet," Calvin said cockily. Rusty rolled his eyes. They talked the rest of the ride about their old friends. After an hour, they arrived at their hotel. "Oh, and when the hotel heard you were staying here, they gave us the penthouse suite free of charge." he added. Rusty shrugged it off, something Calvin marveled at. After all his accomplishments, Rusty was still humble. To him, nothing had changed. He was still doing what he loved, with his friends by his side. He was still just a guy whose friends called him Spitter. Except now, he could actually hold down tequila. Rusty's personality hadn't changed either.

The friends walked into the hotel. Calvin was carrying Rusty's bags. Rusty began to cough, a tissue covering his mouth. Calvin spotted blood on the tissue but decided not to push it. That was Ashleigh's job. She had become lRusty's nurse, always worried about his health. Before they left, Ashleigh and Rusty had a huge fight over him coming on the trip. Rusty said he wanted to say goodbye, which didn't please her. Ashleigh said that if he was careful, that wouldn't be necessary. She had eventually given in since he agreed to talk his medication regularly. Rusty didn't like the medication because it made him feel numb to everything.

They got in the elevator and went to the penthouse suite. There was a note stuck to the door. It said:

Hey, Calvin!

I'm over at Casey's. Come over once Rusty's settled. Make sure he takes his medication.

Love,

Ashleigh!

Rusty rolled his eyes. "She sounds like my mother," Rusty said sarcastically. Calvin ignored his comment. Calvin went to talk a shower while Rusty unpacked. Instead of unpacking, Rusty laid down on the bed. It was comfortable, like his bed at home. He couldn't bear the though of laying on one of those flat hospital mattresses with an IV stuck into his arm. He wanted to die in his own bed. He just needed to make it through this visit. If it went well, he could die in peace. Rusty opened a new jar of medicine. He took two and hoped they'd last through the night.

Calvin decided to be quick. He knew Rusty was anxious to see everyone. Calvin was afraid of how they'd react to Rusty. They'd all be worried. He was worried. Rusty had no appetite and always looked tired. He had no weight on him and his skin was pale. You could see the veins on his arms and his cheekbones had sunken in. Calvin wasn't sure if Rusty could handle the commotion of Cappie's party, but he knew Rusty would get through it with a smile. That was Rusty's way.

After Calvin got out of the shower and got dressed, he went into the living room where he found Rusty watching the Discovery Channel. Rusty looked better than he had a hour ago. He had more color to his skin and he seemed more lively. Calvin instantly knew Rusty had taken an extra dose just for the party.

The two friends left the penthouse and drove to Casey and Cappie's home. Casey had moved out to DC after graduation for law school. Cappie had followed her and became the house father for a branch of Kappa Tau there. Cappie proposed on Casey's graduation day. She accepted and they got married that summer. Rusty had been the best man and Ashleigh was the maid of honor. It was a wedding for the ages, with the wildest reception ever thrown. Rusty had brought his girlfriend of the month, Stephanie. He had become a more of a casual dater after his break-up with Dana. Cappie urged him to find the one, but Rusty didn't have much success. He liked to joke that the love of his life was science, and that no girl could top that. Cappie and Casey found out they were expecting Alana soon after. Alana was four years old and had Casey's looks and her uncle's personality. They were close, and Rusty was constantly sending her new microscopes and things to analyze. They talked about planets and stars. Rusty adored his niece, and had a picture of her in his wallet at all times.

The friends sat in silence as they pulled up to Casey and Cappie's house. "Are you ready?" Calvin asked his friend. Rusty nodded. They stepped out of the car.


	2. Surprise!

Casey Cartwright was setting up for Cappie's birthday party with help of her daughter Alana and her best friend Ashleigh. Beaver and the guys had taken Cappie out for a drink to buy them some time. Casey looked around her home. She still couldn't believe she had convinced Cappie to graduate, let alone settle down. Some days she still felt like a senior in college who was just trying to figure out life. Casey loved her job as a lobbyist, but some days she wanted more. She wanted to be more like Rusty. Rusty had perfected his wire and had received a lot of awards and acclaim. It was a quite a huge step for someone that was nicknamed the Anchor of his class. Casey was proud of her little brother, the Nobel Prize winner.

"Hey, Case, I just warn you about something," Ashleigh said to her best friend. Rusty had made her promise not to tell Casey or anyone else about the cancer, but he never said she couldn't warn Casey about his appearance. Ashleigh hated keeping this secret from Casey, but it was the only way she could get him to continue treatment. Rusty kept saying he was going to die soon, even though the doctor said he had at least three more months. This talk worried her because she could tell Rusty was in a lot of pain. Most days, he tried to go with the medication, but just couldn't bear the pain. It broke Ashleigh's heart to see one of her best friends struggling like that.

"What?" Casey asked curiously. Rusty had been distant lately, and she was curious to know why. He'd sounded weird on the phone the last few times she'd talk to him. His voice had been tired, defeated. Casey wondered if he'd been going through a break-up or having trouble with his research.

Ashleigh chose her words very carefully. "When you see Rusty, he may look a bit different. He's been in the middle of some new project, so he hasn't been eating or getting out much. So, if he seems pale or thinner, don't bring it up with him. He'll just snap your head off." she lied. It felt horrible to lie to Casey, but it was for her own good. Casey would have a nervous breakdown if she learned about it. Ashleigh had been in shock when Rusty told her. She had resolved to help her friend in any way she could. 

Suddenly, the door bell rang. Alana ran to answer it while her mom and aunt talked. Alana knew that Ashleigh wasn't her real aunt, but she was so close to her parents that Alana called her Aunt. She also had Aunt Rebecca, Aunt Betsy, and Aunt Lauren. She had many uncles, her real and favorite one being her Uncle Rusty. Her mom had told her he was coming to her dad's birthday party, so she was excited. She also had Uncle Beaver, Uncle Wade, Uncle Pickle, Uncle Evan, Uncle Jeremy, Uncle Ben Bennett, Uncle Calvin, Uncle Dale, Uncle Heath, Uncle Gonzo, and Uncle Egyptian Joe. It had been Uncle Rusty who had explained their family to her. "Alana," he said. "You're a very lucky little girl. Do you know why?" She shook her head no. "Because you have so many family members that love you." When Alana had said that she only had him, Casey, and Cappie, Rusty had shook his head. "What about all of your mom's sisters and your dad's brothers?" he asked. She explained that they were only friends, not real family. Rusty shook his head again. "That's were you're wrong. When they were in college, your parents picked a new family. They gained not just friends, but brothers and sisters for life." Alana took this in and then nodded. "So whenever you feel lonely, just remember you have a huge family that loves you. Okay?" She said yes and gave him a hug. 

Alana answered the door and saw her Uncle Rusty and her Uncle Calvin standing on the other side. She ran into Rusty's arm and gave him a huge hug. "Uncle Rustey!" she shouted as she clung to his neck. He smiled and hugged her pack. 

"Hey, kiddo, how ya doing?" he asked her. He set Alana down. She got a good look at his uncle. He looked sick somehow. She shrugged off the thought. 

"Good. Daddy and I used my new telescope to look at stars the other night," Alana told him cheerfully. She knew her uncle was a famous engineer, but he didn't act like one. He still was willing to help her with her projects and loved to talk about science with her. The only time she ever noticed he was famous was when she got his gifts. They were always top of the line science equipment that most adults wouldn't send to a kid. Alana had gotten the hang of the equipment and used it frequently. 

"Cool. See anything interesting?" Rusty asked, his eyes bright. He loved that his niece was like him. It baffled Casey and Cappie that their daughter took an interest in science. Actually, it baffled everyone except Rusty. He just went with it. He sent her expensive, professional equipment and helped her with her experiments. And even though he'd talked to some of the greatest minds in science, he loved nothing mote than hearing Alana talk about a plant she found. 

"We saw the Big Dipper," she told him excitedly. Rusty nodded. Then she remembered that her uncle Calvin was there also. 

"Sorry, Uncle Cavin!" she apologized as she hugged him too. Her uncle Calvin wasn't like her other uncles. He had explained to her that instead of liking girls like her, he liked boys like him. This didn't bother Alana and seeing her uncle with a guy was normal for her. And one day, when a boy in her day care had called another boy gay as an insult, she had broken his nose. Her mom was angry and her dad was proud. 

"It's okay kiddo. You science nerds had to talk about whatever nerds talk about," Calvin joked. The little girl was the spitting image of Casey but had Rusty's personality. The little girl's interest in science baffled her parents and their friends. Calvin knew Rusty loved the little more than anything. Calvin had skimmed his will and seen that he left her a good chunk of his estate. 

"We're not nerds!" Rusty and Alana responded at the same time. Calvin laughed. 

Casey heard her brother and Calvin talking to Alana. She turned around and saw them standing in her foyer. Casey looked at her brother and was startled by his appearance. Rusty looked thinner and paler. His cheekbones had sunken in a bit. She saw his smile and was reassured. She made a mental note to talk to him later. She ran and hugged her brother. Casey noticed him wince a bit, but he hugged her back nonetheless. "Hey, little brother. How are you?" she asked concerned. Rusty and Calvin exchanged a glance. 

"Can't complain," he answered lightly. Alana was holding something in her arms, Casey noticed. 

"You brought Cappie a present! I told you not to! With all the stuff you've given Alana, you should be sending us a bill. Cappie googled the price of the telescope you gave her and it was $7,565. That's way too much money!" Casey ranted. Rusty loved to spoil his niece with top of the line equipment. Casey knew it didn't even make a dent in his pocket. Rusty, in addition to his wire, had published two books and several articles. That, plus a few other projects, had made Rusty a millionaire. She also knew that Rusty didn't spend that much on himself. He had a library card and Netflix account. He hung out with his friends and checked up on the new KTs. His life was pretty simple. He just gave everyone else gifts. 

"Don't worry about it. Everyone sends me their equipment hoping that I'll use it and promote their brand. There's no harm in Alana using it. Plus, Cappie's gift didn't cost me that much." Rusty answered casually. He liked giving his friends gifts. He'd bought Dobbler's and let a few of his pledge brothers manage it. Somehow, it made even more money than it had before. Rusty had also bought the Kappa Tau's favorite strip club and made sure it only opened to KTs on Saturdays just for any brother who needed a pick me up. He also secretly donated to Dale's research and paid for his church's new stain glass window. He'd even given money to Evan's campaign for a place in the House, though he never told him that. Rusty liked doing these things for his friends. 

"And the stuff you did buy?" Casey asked. She knew her brother loved giving to others. Cappie had told her that Rusty had bought Dobbler's and let Wade and Jeremy run it just so they'd have jobs. He also told her that Rusty had bought Gentleman's Choice and made sure it only opened to Kappa Taus on Saturdays. Casey had been amazed that her brother cared that much about his friends.

"Case, I'm a single millionaire who doesn't even have a dog. Just let me spoil my family a little." Rusty said jokingly. He would love company, even if it was in the form of a dog. Calvin was a great roommate, but he worked a lot. Rusty wanted a girlfriend, but knew he couldn't drag anyone else into his situation. Everyone had been asking him why he was single lately. He didn't have the heart to answer that question. 

"Fine," Casey agreed. There was something in her brother's voice that sounded sad. She knew he had never really found his soul mate like she had in Cappie. She knew he must be lonely, even with a roommate. Casey knew from Ashleigh that outside their CRU gang, Rusty didn't have many friends. He didn't care for the snotty, sciencey types he was expected to talk to. She knew he preferred going over to CRU and hanging with the new KTs. She also knew from Cappie that they all admired Rusty after an intense game of beer pong. Rusty could name each active and pledge in the house, a remarkable feat. 

"Hey guys! Come taste this!" Ashleigh shouted from the kitchen. Rusty and Calvin raced Alana there. Casey just walked. Rusty could smell their mom's secret chili recipe. Once they'd both graduated and found places to live, their mom had given both of them the recipe. Casey was the only one who could recreate it perfectly.

"You told Ashleigh the recipe?" Rusty asked his sister in shock. It was a family recipe that had been carried on through the decades. Their mom had made them swear not to reveal it to anyone besides their own children. Rusty had taken this very seriously, even locking it in his bank vault.

"No, she grilled the chicken outside," Casey responded, laughing at the look of relief on Rusty's face. She knew he'd taken their oath very seriously, going to great lengths to hide it.

Rusty breathed a breath of relief. He looked over at Ashleigh, who was giving him the look. Rusty hated that look. It was the you-need-to-stop-lying-and-tell-your-sister look. Rusty knew Casey should know, but he didn't want to spoil Cappie's party with his bad news. "So, when's Cappie coming?" Rusty asked excitedly. He couldn't wait to see his big brother, who didn't know he was coming. Cappie didn't even know about the party.

"He should be here in twenty minutes," Casey replied happily. She knew her husband would be thrilled to see his little brother, especially since he didn't know about the party or that Rusty was coming. Casey knew Cappie was extremely proud of Rusty. She had even found a few issues of Engineering Weekly that featured Rusty on the cover in his den. Casey also knew that he'd be concerned about Rusty's appearance. Everyone probably would be. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. "People are here!" she shouted joyfully. She ran to answer the door with Alana as coat check girl.

Betsey and Lauren arrived first, followed by Rebecca. Dale came straight from the lab. There were also a few of the friends Casey and Cappie had made in DC. Alana's best friend Kit was also there. A few of the adults recognized Rusty and started swarming him with questions. "So, Mr. Cartwright, are you working anything new right now?" one of them asked Rusty. All of his CRU friends just stared at the man. It was odd for them to hear Rusty called Mr. Cartwright. They called him Rusty or Spitter.

"No, I'm taking a little vacation from my work at the moment," Rusty replied casually. This shocked Dale, who knew what a workaholic Rusty could be. Casey was also surprised to hear that come from her brother. Ashleigh and Calvin both seemed like they expected it. Rusty looked at the window to see a car pulling up into the street. "Everyone hide!" Rusty shouted. They all scrambled to hide in the kitchen. He couldn't crouch down, the pain was too bad. Instead, he hid behind a pantry. 

Cappie and his friends walked in to a dark, silent house. "Where is everyone?" he asked his friends. They just simply shrugged while trying to hide the secret. Cappie opened the door and switched off the lights.

Everyone jumped out and screamed "Surprise!" Cappie was shocked to see all his CRU friends in attendance. All his brothers were there, as well most of Casey's sisters. The biggest surprise of all was seeing Rusty. Cappie took a good look at Rusty. Cappie instantly knew there was something wrong. Not only did he look thinner and paler, but his smile was a fake. It was covering something up. He knew he'd have a talk with Rusty later. For now, it was party time.

"Rusty! What are you doing here? Don't you have award winning work to do?" Cappie teased. He was actually proud of his little brother for proving them all wrong. Rusty had proved that an Polymer Science major could also be a fraternity brother and still be successful.

"I would never miss my big brother's birthday," Rusty replied with a real smile. It felt good to see Cappie. Everyone started catching up on their lives, sharing stories and reminiscing. Rusty felt more alive talking to his friends than he had in months. He knew that, no matter what happened to him, this family would remain. 


	3. Gifts and Stories

**It couldn't have been a better party. All of Cappie's friends were there, his KT brothers and his old high school friends. Many of Casey's ZBZ sisters were there as well. Wade had indeed shaved his moustache, so Calvin gave Rusty twenty bucks, which Rusty made a note to give back later. There was alcoholic and karaoke, a mixture Cappie thoroughly enjoyed. He noticed Rusty didn't touch his drink, but didn't say anything. The CRU gang stayed the latest of all the guests, reminiscing about college. "Hey, Ruse, do you remember that time we duck-tapped you to the wall?" Evan asked cruelly. Rusty just glared at him. Alana gasped.**

"**Uncle Evam did that to my Uncle Rustey? Uncle Evam is a meanie pants!" Alana shouted, her face angry. She didn't like her uncle being picked on. Cappie smiled.**

"**Don't worry, sweetheart. If my memory serves me right, your brother did put barn yard animals in their house as revenge." Cappie told his worried daughter with a chuckle. Casey smoothly changed the topic before Evan could say anything else. **

"**So, Dale, how's the research?" she asked, faking curiosity. It was one of the things Casey had gotten good at over the years, especially with having a four year old. **

"**It's coming along. Nothing like Mr. Nobel Prize Winner over here, but it's been sparking some interest." Dale answered modestly. Two things had changed about him since college. 1. He stopped pushing his beliefs onto everyone he met, thereby improving his social skills and 2. He became a lot more modest and humble. Rusty just blushed. "Speaking of research, did I hear you say you were taking a break from your work? What's with that?"**

**Rusty just stared at his cup. Ashleigh and Calvin exchanged a glance. "I'll be right back," he mumbled quickly. The pain was starting to come back, and he couldn't bear it in front of all his friends. The conversation turned to Evan's campaign and Calvin's newest fundraiser. Cappie excused himself and went to follow Rusty. Rusty went into the bathroom and left the door open. Cappie stayed in a position at the beginning of the hall where he could see Rusty perfectly. When Rusty began to cough Cappie almost walked away, but then something caught his eye. There was a huge spot of blood on the tissue Rusty had been using. This immediately alarmed Cappie and he made a note to talk to Beaver, who was now an expert on all things thanks to Wikipedia. **

**Rusty tool a plastic bag of pills out of his pocket and opened it. He took out four, twice his usual dosage. Rusty knew two wouldn't dull the pain anymore. He also knew that soon four wouldn't do the trick either. He took the pills and swallowed a bit of water. **

**Everyone eventually decided they had to go home around midnight. Cappie and Casey thanked all of them for coming and arranged for all of them to have brunch there in the morning. Ashleigh, Rusty, and Calvin all stayed to help clean up. **

"**Hey, Case, can I open my presents now?" Cappie nagged. His wife had made him not open the presents in front of their guests. He desperately wanted to see what he got. **

"**Go ahead," was her answer. Casey shook her head. Her husband was like a three year old on Christmas. Rusty and Alana went into the living room to help Cappie with his presents. He'd opened most of them by the time they'd sat down. **

"**Hey, Spitter, is the one yours?' Cappie asked excitedly. Rusty nodded. Cappie ripped open the bag only to find a small key. "A key? To what?" Cappie asked. **

"**Read the note," Rusty replied. He'd lied to Casey; the present was pricey, but they deserved it. Cappie dug through the bag until he found the note. It said:**

**Hey Cappie.**

**I know I told Casey I wouldn't get you a gift, but I lied. Take this key to the car dealership down the road and pick the car of your dreams. I already set up a tab, so don't worry about the price. I know it's a big gift, but the car you have is falling apart. Enjoy.**

**Signed **

**Spitter the Scientist**

**Cappie stared at the note in disbelief. "You didn't," he said to Rusty in shock. Rusty shrugged. "Case, come here!" Cappie shouted to his wife. She dropped what she was doing and went into the living room.**

"**What's wrong?" she asked Cappie, who looked awestruck. He handed her the note. She read and glared at her brother. "Rusty, this is way too big of a gift! We can't accept it!" she shouted at him.**

"**Think of it this way. I have so much money that I don't know how to spend, so if you don't get a new car, I might go spend my money on drugs and become an addict. So really, you guys are doing me a favor by taking this car." Rusty reasoned. He knew it was far-fetched, but he needed them to just take the gift. It would probably be the last birthday gift he ever gave. Rusty needed to know he did something to repay his sister and big brother before he died. **

"**Well, since you put it that way, thanks!" Cappie agreed. He knew Rusty just liked seeing everyone happy, and he had the money to do that. After all, they were all he had. No other friends besides the CRU gang, no girlfriend, no pets. Rusty lived a pretty lonely life. **

**Alana hopped into her uncle's lap. "Uncle Rustey, will you tell me a story before Mommy makes me go to bed?" she asked him with puppy dog eyes. She loved her uncle's stories more than any other stories. He told wild tales of a magical place called CRU where her parents and friends had all met. **

"**Okay, let's see. Oh, did I ever tell you about the might Mt. Vesuvius?' Rusty asked her. Alana shook her head. "Okay, well, in the kingdom of Kappa Tau Gamma, there was a might volcano called Mt. Vesuvius. It was created by a great king, Egyptian Joe, many years ago."**

"**Uncle Egyptian Joe?" Alana asked excitedly. Rusty nodded. She made a mental note to start calling King Uncle Egyptian Joe. **

"**Yes," Rusty answered with a laugh. "Every year, all the kingdoms of CRU would come together at Kappa Tau to celebrate the great Vesuvius. It was the of legendary party of CRU. Now, when I was only a newcomer to the kingdom, the volcano stopped erupting. Your dad, then the king of Kappa Tau, gave me the task of fixing it. Unfortunately, King Egyptian Joe hadn't left a very detailed instruction manual. So, with the help of your Uncle Dale and my very own princess, I stole a magical machine and put it in Vesuvius. The magical machine fixed the volcano and made it rain beer. And everyone partied all night." **

"**What's beer?" Alana asked curiously. It was in almost all of these stories and she'd heard her dad talk about it a few times.**

"**Beer is an adult drink and was the magical beverage of these kingdoms," Rusty answered cautiously. He knew Casey would kill him if he gave her the real definition of beer. **

"**Wait, what happened to your princess?" Alana asked. She saw that her question made her uncle sad and immediately felt bad. She had heard her parents talking about how her uncle had yet to find the one. She didn't know what that meant, but the way they talked made it sound like a bad thing.**

"**Well, we kissed under the rainfall of beer, but at the end of the story, she turned out to be an evil witch," Rusty replied jokingly. He still missed his first love sometimes. He had seen one of her articles in the New York Times, and he was glad she was doing well. Rusty didn't mind not finding his true love. He seen enough of them to know how messy they were. **

"**And what happened to Vesuvius?" Alana asked urgently. She had a bad feeling about the ending of this story just from the way her uncle hadn't told it immediately. **

"**Well, Vesuvius lived in peace most of the semester until some evil wizards rented Kappa Tau for a party. They trashed the house and destroyed Vesuvius. This nearly killed your Uncle Pickle. We laid Vesuvius to rest the proper way and said our goodbyes." Rusty told her sadly. He remembered that day vividly. Pickle had been inconsolable and they'd had three screenings of his favorite movie to comfort him. **

"**No!" Alana shouted. She hated when stories had sad endings. **

"**Don't worry. Vesuvius will be rebuilt one day, and for now, it just lives in our hearts." Rusty reassured her. He didn't say that it was going to be rebuilt sooner than expected. **

**Casey stood in the doorway, listening to her brother tell her daughter a story. Alana said her favorite stories were Uncle Rusty's and that he'd promised to make her a book filled with them. Casey never realized how exciting their college days had been until she heard Rusty talk about them. The ending to that story caught her attention. Rusty said it would rebuilt one day, and he sounded so sure of it, but Cappie had told her the new KTs had nearly no extra money to spare. Alana got up, gave her uncle a good night kiss, and skipped off to bed. Casey shook her head. "How do you do that?" she asked her brother. "Usually I have to drag her to bed."**

**Rusty shook his head. "I have no clue," he admitted. He had a feeling his sister was catching on, but tried to ignore it. **

"**So, how have you been?" Casey asked casually. She knew something was wrong, but didn't want to force the issue. That would just make Rusty snap.**

"**I've been better," Rusty answered honestly. He considered telling his sister about the cancer, the pain, but decided against. His answer was vague enough that it didn't go immediately in that direction.**

"**Why? What's wrong?" Casey asked worriedly. Her brother didn't look all that great, to tell the truth. She had seen his hand and you could clearly see his veins. **

"**I just have a lot of regrets, I guess," Rusty answered sadly. It wasn't a lie. He wasn't afraid to die, but he just had a lot of things he wished he could do or had done. He wished he had found his soul mate and had a family. He wished he could watch his niece grow up into a young woman. He wished he could see Dale's research win the acclaim Rusty knew it was going to get. It made him sad to think he'd never see any of those things.**

"**Why? You have a great life. You're rich, successful, and have friends that love you." Casey told him. She knew his regrets. Rusty was a hopeless romantic who never found his match. She knew he was proud of his accomplishments, but they couldn't fill the empty space he felt. Casey knew the only reason he had remained in Cyprus was that it was near CRU. Even Cappie was able to find a new home, but CRU was where Rusty belonged. Nowhere else could compare. **

"**Thanks, Case." Rusty replied. He knew he was a lucky guy, but there were some things he hadn't been blessed with. Rusty had started going to church, trying to find the faith Dale had. He needed to have faith that everyone would be okay when he died. Rusty had a plan, but he didn't know if it would work or not. **

**Ashleigh, Calvin, and Rusty didn't stay much longer. They left a little after two and went start to bed. Rusty stayed up until four working on his plan. He knew it would help his friends and family when he died, but he didn't know if the person he needed help from would do these tasks for him. Rusty hoped she would. Only she would understand why. **


	4. Asking A Favor

Rusty woke up early and checked his phone. He had three new messages. He pressed play and listened. "Hey, Rusty, it's Grace. I know we ended badly and you probably don't want to talk to me, but I need to see you. Please meet with me. I need to say goodbye." The message ended. Rusty started to cry. The next message was from his doctor saying his appointment had been switched to Monday instead of Tuesday. The last message really surprised him.

"Hello, Mr. Cartwright. This is Megan Riley, of the Sparks Network. I was just wondering if you'd do an interview for us to air on our network. I know you don't give too many interviews, bur I promise you it will go unedited and you can say whatever you want. Please call me back." Rusty thought about it. He did hate giving interviews, but he thought this would be a good thing to leave behind. He wanted everyone to know what his life was really like.

He called the reporter back and said he'd do it. They scheduled it for the following week. Rusty then went online and booked a first class ticket to San Diego. He left a note for Ashley and Calvin. Rusty knew it was a bad way to tell them, but he didn't want them trying to convince him not to go. They had both been wary of Grace, but eventually accepted her. When the two broke up, his two friends automatically hated her for breaking his heart. Rusty knew it went both ways; he'd broken her heart and she had broken his. He knew the break up was his fault. Rusty had pushed Grace away when he got the diagnosis. He hadn't wanted to drag her into his mess.

Cappie was woken up the next morning by Our Time Now by the Plain White Ts. Tom and Pete had become great huge rock stars, to everyone's surprise. It was his ringtone for Rusty. Cappie answered his phone with a groggy hello. "Hey, Cap, I'm sorry but I can't make it to brunch. I have to be somewhere." Rusty said, sounding stressed. Cappie knew his little bro must have a good reason, but he was curious nonetheless.

"What's so urgent?" Cappie asked worriedly. He wondered if it had anything to do with the blood Rusty had coughed up the other night.

"I just have to go see an old friend. Just have a good brunch and go pick out a new car." Rusty answered vaguely. He had never had the time to introduce Grace to Cappie and Casey, so they would just ask tons of questions.

"Okay then. I'll tell Case. Take care of yourself, Spitter. Have more weight on you the next time you visit." Cappie replied jokingly. He knew Rusty's appearance had worried everyone except Ashleigh and Calvin. They looked at him like they knew he was just going to get worse. This scared Cappie.

"Okay. Bye." Rusty said before hanging up the phone. He sighed and made his way to his terminal, feeling incredibly worn out. His flight boarded quickly. Once again, Rusty was seated by a pretty woman, probably around twenty years old. She reminded him of Casey in a way, with her long blonde hair and greenish-hazel eyes.

"So, why are you going to San Diego?" the woman asked him bluntly. Rusty looked at her. "Sorry if that was too straightforward," she apologized quickly.

Rusty shook his head. "It's fine," he responded. "I'm going to see my ex girlfriend."

"Ah, trying to rekindle your love?" the woman teased. Rusty smiled. This girl definitely reminded him of his sister.

"No, it's too late for that," Rusty responded truthfully, If he was going to live, Rusty would've married Grace. But, he was dying and didn't want her to suffer because of him.

"Why not?" the woman asked, her eyes curious.

"I'm dying," Rusty answered calmly.

The woman stared at him hard for a minute. Then she replied. "That's a horrible excuse." Rusty was surprised by this outspoken women next to him.

"What's a good excuse, then?" Rusty challenged her. He wanted to know how much this stranger thought she knew about him.

"There's no such thing as a good excuse not to be in love," she answered forcefully.

"You remind me of my sister," Rusty told this mystery woman.

"Is that a compliment?" she asked playfully. Rusty then began telling her about his sister and big brother and his niece. He also told her about all his friends and the KTs. He told all their greatest moments: the End of the World party, beer bong tournament, the float contest. She was enthralled by these stories and insisted on hearing more. She introduced herself as Natasha.

"So, Natasha, why are you going to San Diego?" Rusty asked her.

"I was offered a job as editor of a publishing house there," she responded monotone.

"You don't sound to happy about it," he remarked.

"I just edit for the money. I'm actually a writer." Natasha revealed.

"What do you write?" Rusty asked curiously. He was always looking for something new to read.

"A little bit of everything. I have five novels published, one romance, a thriller, two science fiction, and one mystery." she told him proudly. Rusty asked for the titles and she scribbled them down for him.

"That's impressive. I'm trying to write something right now. I'm not a writer, but it's for my niece." Rusty admitted shyly. Alana had requested a book of his stories and Rusty was halfway done with it. He had included pictures and divided the books into sections based on kingdoms.

"If you want, I can look it over for you before you give it to her," Natasha offered. She thought this guy was sweet and she wanted to help him in any way possible. She scribbled down her phone number and address and gave it to him. Rusty gave her his as well. She stared at the piece of paper. It said Rusty Cartwright. She was sitting next to a Nobel Prize winner. He hadn't even mentioned what he did.

Natasha processed this with all the information he'd given her. This genius was alone and preparing to die. Her heart broke for him and she vowed to keep his secrets.

"Something wrong?" Rusty asked Natasha, who had suddenly gone quiet. He then realized that he had written his last name on the piece of paper. "Oh, that," he added.

"It's no big deal," she said with a shrug. It actually was a big deal, but Natasha didn't want to freak him out.

"Would you mind keeping everything I told you private? Only three other people know about this." Rusty pleaded. He didn't want his niece to find out by flipping on the news.

"No problem," Natasha answered coolly. They spent the rest of the flight in silence. It wasn't long until they were in San Diego. Rusty breathed a sigh of relief. He need to take some medication or he was going to be in agony. They both stepped off the plane and went to claim their luggage. Once they'd both gotten their luggage, Natasha said, "I hope I'll be hearing for you."

"Definitely. I'll probably be sending you the book in a week or so." Rusty responded casually. Natasha knew that this meant he didn't think hed had much more time in him. She nodded and went outside to get a cab. Rusty searched for Grace.

Grace looked all over for Rusty. She finally found him standing by the exit. God, he looked awful, she though to herself. Rusty was frail, and his cheekbones had sunken in. She could tell just by his stance that he was in a lot of pain. Grace now knew why they had broken up. Rusty didn't want her to see him suffer that much. And she knew she probably wouldn't have been able to handle it.

She walked over to him and grabbed his hand. Rusty looked at up. His face was surprised. Grace smiled. "Hey, how are you?" she asked, knowing the answer she was going to get.

"I've been better," Rusty replied quietly. Everyone always expected him to launch into some sob story, but he had too much dignity for that. Plus, he really had nothing to be sad about.

"I'll say," Grace said bluntly. Rusty smiled. He had missed her straightforwardness. It reminded him of Rebecca and the way she'd tortured him during the ZBZ Mister Purfect competition.

"You look good too," he replied casually. Grace always managed to put him into this trance, in which no bad things could happen. She did look good, her brown hair cut shorter and her skin tanner. They got into her car and pulled out of the airport.

"Thank you. So, do you want to grab some lunch?" she asked him, seeing how frail he was. Grace was going to do everything she could to get him to eat. Even if she had to call his friends, who apparently hated her now.

"Sure, I haven't ate all day. I had to miss brunch to catch my flight." Rusty confessed sheepishly. Grace glared at him. His doctor had warned him that he needed to stay on a regular meal schedule. They walked to her car in silence. Rusty started to cough. This alarmed Grace, but Rusty waved her off. She saw that the tissue was nearly soaked in blood.

"Rusty, that's not good. Have you been in treatment lately?" Grace asked concerned. Like Ashleigh, she wanted Rusty to try to fight his illness, but he wasn't too willing and it was too late by the time he'd found out.

"No, I stopped treatment. It wasn't working. I've just been taking an extra dose every day. And the blood thing only happens once or twice a day." Rusty said nonchalantly. He was use to the blood, and it really didn't even hurt that much. It only stung for a bit afterwards.

Grace only shook her head and held back her tears as she pulled into a small diner. Seeing the guy she loved in that much pain made her want to scream. They walked inside and sat down. She changed the topic. "So, how's Alana?"

Rusty face lit up. Grace knew how much he adored his niece and had learned a lot about the little girl. She was Rusty's favorite topic, the person he could talk about for hours. She listened as Rusty told her about the new microwave she had made herself while they enjoyed some burgers and fries.

"So, how's Dale's research going?" Grace asked, just wanting to her Rusty happy and in his element.

"It's coming along. I think he's on the brink of something big." Rusty responded excitedly. He knew his friend, who had waited long for success, deserved all the attention he got and was ecstatic about it. Rusty only wished he could live to see Dale get his time in the spotlight.

"You'd know. So, what are your plans?" Grace asked curiously. Rusty had told her that he'd made plans for when he died. Some part of these plans involved her.

"I need you to do me a huge favor," Rusty pleaded with her. He knew she wouldn't feel comfortable doing it, but he needed the reassurance that it would be taken care of.

"What?" Grace asked urgently. If Rusty didn't want her to help him fight, then the least she could do was a favor. She didn't care if it was going to his old fraternity and giving them all laps dances.

"I've written letters. One for Cappie, Casey, Calvin, Dale, Ashleigh, Rebecca and Evan, Alana, each of my KT brothers, and one of the new KTs. I need you to make sure everyone gets their letters. Then, I want you to go to Kappa Tau and give them an envelope once they've rebuilt Vesuvius. They'll take it from there." Rusty told her solemnly. He knew it sounded like a crazy plan, but he had a feeling it would work.

"That sounds so PS I Love You," Grace said teasingly. She didn't want to do this, but she owned him that much.

"Yeah, but they each only get one letter." Rusty replied defensively.

"I'll help you," Grace answered quietly. She knew he couldn't do this alone and she was willing to help him.

"And I have something for you," Rusty responded kindly. He pulled out a magazine and an envelope. She stared at these. "Don't open either until I'm gone," he insisted forcefully.

"Gone as in dead or gone as in at home?" Grace asked, unsure of what he meant.

"The first one," Rusty replied remorsefully. He knew she would take his death hard as well, and he wanted to leave her something too.

"Okay. So, are you staying the night," she asked hopefully. Grace knew Rusty hated all the sunlight, but she couldn't help but wish he'd spend one final night with him.

Rusty shook his head. "I'm actually heading back to the airport to catch a flight home." he admitted sadly. Rusty wished he could spend the night with Grace in his arms, but it wouldn't be right. Instead, Rusty got up and kissed her one last time. "I love you. Never forget that."

"I won't," Grace answered with a tear in her eye. Rusty nodded and went outside. He called a taxi service and headed back to the airport, leaving behind his soul mate.


	5. Hearing the News

Cappie looked out the window, admiring his new car. He had picked out a silver Jaguar. Casey had wanted something safer, but he had insisted on this. He knew Rusty had wanted him to treat himself, so that's what he did. Cappie wondered why Rusty didn't just buy himself nice stuff. It had been a month since the party, and they'd only heard from Rusty once. He hadn't sounded okay, but he'd kept his chipper attitude. When Casey had talked to Ashleigh about it, she had just said he had a bad cold. She had sounded nervous, like she was trying to hid something.

Alana sat in the kitchen, working on her latest experiment. She was testing different metals to see how they reacted to water and then studying them under her microscope. Her Uncle Rusty had sent her a brand new one just last week and Alana was still getting the feel of it. The phone rang and she ran to get it. "Hello? May I ask who's calling?" Alana asked in the polite tone her mom taught her.

"Hey, Alana, it's Aunt Ashleigh, is your mom there?" Ashleigh asked quietly. Alana could tell her usually up-beat aunt was crying and upset.

"No, Mommy's at work. Do you want me to get my dad?" she asked kindly. Alana learned at a young age how to comfort people.

"Yes please," her aunt answered while crying. Alana ran to get her dad, scared of why Ashleigh was crying. She had a feeling it had to do with her Uncle Rusty. He hadn't looked good the last time she saw him.

Cappie felt a tug on his hand. He turned around to see his little girl holding the phone with a worried look. "What's wrong, sweetie?" he asked his daughter softly.

"Aunt Ashleigh's on the phone. She's crying." Alana told her dad, noticing how alert he suddenly became.

"Okay. I'll handle it." Cappie reassured the little girl, who had inherited her mother's worrywart tendencies. He took the phone and casually said, "Hey Ashleigh. What's up?"

Ashleigh let out a sob. She didn't know how to break this to Cappie. She had been a wreck since Calvin told her two days ago. He'd gone out to arrange Rusty's funereal. Calvin had found a file labeled Plans in Rusty's room. He'd made very specific plans on what they were to do for his funeral. He'd even left a list of people he wanted there. It was an intimate list. Ashleigh knew this was one party she wasn't looking forward to plan.

"I have some bad news," she mumbled between her sobs. This was probably the worst thing she'd ever had to do.

"What is it?" Cappie asked, his voice turning serious. If Ashleigh was this upset about it, it had to be a bad thing.

"Rusty's dead," Ashleigh said, her voice quivering. She wished it hadn't come done to her telling them about Rusty being sick now, but he'd held up his end of the bargain, so she had to do hers. Rusty had gone through treatment up until the very end. He'd managed to do it with a smile and never complained about the pain, only talking about it when asked.

Cappie was sure he didn't hear Ashleigh right. He knew he was being punked or something. Spitter, the guy who made it ran beer, the only pledge who'd had the courage to tell him off, couldn't be gone. He was about to turn thirty, still full of life. Yet, the pieces of the puzzle started to make sense to Cappie. The weight loss, veins showing, sunken cheekbones, frailness, and the coughing up of blood all started to fit together; Rusty had been really sick. He'd successfully concealed it from everywhere. Well, almost everyone. Calvin and Ashleigh probably knew about it. Cappie felt awful not paying enough attention to his little brother. He wanted to punch the wall, but decided it would only scare his daughter. "How?" was all he was able to choke out.

"Lung cancer. He got the diagnosis six months ago. It got really bad after the first month and the doctor told Rusty he was most likely going to die." Ashleigh replied, her voice cracking. Cappie stayed silent, waiting for Ashleigh to say more. "I wanted him to tell you guys, but he said he didn't want to die pitied, he wanted to die as he lived. Calvin and I went along with it because it was the only way he'd go through treatment and take the medication. I guess the pain got to be too much for him."

Cappie took in this new information and immediately felt bad for the things he'd started to think about Rusty's two best friends. They'd lied to everyone so that Rusty would be around longer. He knew Rusty was a fighter, but Cappie figured he just probably didn't want to fight a battle he was going to lose. He knew it must have been torture watching Rusty get weaker and weaker each day. He though about Rusty's gifts lately, the fancy science equipment and the car, and realized that Rusty just wanted them to be taken care of when he was gone. Cappie knew that Rusty had known he wasn't going to live much longer at his party.

"Did he die alone?" he asked, his voice full of regret. He wished that Rusty had told them and allowed them to have the chance to say goodbye probably. At the same time, he knew Spitter had died the way he wanted to: with respect.

"Calvin and Grace were there. He died in the hospital" Ashleigh answered, her voice suddenly angry. She didn't get why Grace had been there. She and Rusty had broken up six months ago, and she had shattered his heart in the process. Ashleigh didn't know about the visit Rusty had made a month earlier.

"Who's Grace?" Cappie asked, his voice low. He wanted to now about this girl who'd watched his little bro die. He had though Spitter never found the one for him. After graduating, Rusty became like Cappie before Casey tied him down. He'd sleep with every girl in sight, although he, unlike Cappie, treated them well and became friends with some of them.

"Does it really matter?" Ashleigh asked desperately, on the verge of another breakdown. She had enough to deal with without all these questions. She had to call all her other friends and tell them the news. Then she had to release a statement to the media and handle of Rusty's affairs. Rusty had told her not to tell them anything; he said he had it covered. Ashleigh wondered what Rusty's great plan was. How could he possibly pull off this plan when he was gone?

Cappie just softly replied, "No." He and Ashleigh talked for a few minutes before Ashleigh said she had to go. Cappie put down the phone and started crying. His little girl ran over to him and locked him in a huge hug. He patted her back while trying to figure out how'd he tell Casey if Ashleigh didn't get to her.

Casey was sitting in her office, trying to figure out how to get votes for her boss. The phone kept ringing and she was starting to get annoyed. It was her secretary's job to answer the phone. "I have to do everything myself," Casey mumbled grouchily. She picked it up the phone and said in the most professional tone she had, "Hello, this is Mr. Chamber's headquarters, how can I help you?"

It was Ashleigh. "Hey, Case," she said softly. Casey immediately knew there was something wrong. She could just tell by the sound of her best friend's voice. "Is this a bad time? I tried getting you at home, but Cappie said you weren't home yet."

"No, I'm not busy. What's up?" Casey asked worriedly. She was a worrier by nature, and her friend was starting to freak her out.

Ashleigh was really starting to hate her assignment. Telling Cappie was bad enough, but telling Casey would be brutal. She decided to just be blunt and get right to the point. "Rusty's gone," she blurted out.

"Oh, where did he go?" Casey asked casually. She knew if Rusty went away, he'd always come back. He always missed Cyprus too much to stay anywhere else too long.

"Not that kind of gone. He's gone as in forever gone." Ashleigh corrected while trying stifle her sobs.

Casey took a few minutes to think about this and then realized that Ashleigh meant that Rusty was dead. She didn't believe it. "No!" she shouted into the phone. "No, no, no!" Her little brother couldn't be dead. Rusty was on the brink of thirty and still had a lot to experience.

"Yes," Ashleigh responded, trying regain some composure. Casey was taking the news just like she had. Ashleigh had thrown around lamps and furniture until Calvin calmed her down.

"How?" Casey demanded to know. As far as she knew, Rusty had been fine. But now he was dead. Clearly something hadn't been right.

"Lung cancer. He was diagnosed six months ago and was told he was probably going to die in the first month." Ashleigh replied solemnly. Her wounds were fresh, and she could remember watching her friend die like it was still happening.

"And you didn't bother to tell me! What kind of crummy friend are you?" Casey screamed into the phone. She couldn't believe her best friend had kept this from her. Casey had always thought the ZBZ sisterhood linked them in a way that made it impossible for secrets to be kept. Apparently, she had been wrong.

"You have no right saying that to me," Ashleigh said coldly. Casey was about to say something when Ashleigh continued. "I've been doing the best I could to keep Rusty alive. Calvin and I made a deal with him, that if he went through treatment and took his medication, we'd keep his secret. I kept him in treatment, Casey! He wasn't going to do treatment unless we agreed. He lived five months longer because of Calvin and me. And I had to watch him die! Do you know what that's like. Every day he just got weaker and weaker and it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I wanted to tell you guys the whole time, but Rusty refused." she added while sobbing.

Casey instantly felt bad about what she had just told Ashleigh. Her friend had bee going through more than she could imagine. "I'm sorry, Ash. I was just upset and I took my feelings out on you. I appreciate what you did for Rusty and you're a great friend." she replied calmly.

"Okay, all's forgiven," Ashleigh said shakily. They said goodbye and Casey tried to push back her tears. She told her secretary to cover for her for the day, and she drove home. Casey came home to see her husband crying with Alana comforting. They both knew that the other had gotten the news. Alana didn't know what was wrong, but she knew it was bad. The small family sat together in their living room and cried together.


	6. Alana's Letter

Alana knew there was something wrong in her house; the signs were everything. Both of her parents had been crying the last few days and a lot of her aunts and uncles had been over lately, crying and drinking magical beer. She remembered her Uncle Rusty telling her that beer was a depressant, something that made people sad. After remembering that, Alana stopped worrying about her family. She figured that her parents were just sad because of beer.

One day, Alana was working with her favorite telescope when the doorbell rang. She ran to answer it her mom was at work and her dad was taking a nap. Alana didn't care for naps; she had too much energy for them. She opened the door to see a short-haired brunette woman with tan skin and bright green eyes. Alana had never seen someone that tan before and thought it was pretty. The woman seemed to be crying, and Alana wondered if she was sad from beer too.

Grace looked at this little girl. Rusty had been right; she was the spitting image of Casey. Grace had only seen the two in pictures but could see the resemblance. And yet, the little girl reminded her of Rusty. Alana had all his mannerisms and the look he'd get when thinking about something. She felt tears dripping down her face, but ignored them. "Are you Alana?" Grace asked kindly. She already felt a connection with the little girl simply because Rusty had loved her so much.

"Yes," Alana answered cautiously. Both of Alana's parents had warned her against talking to strangers, but this lady didn't seem like a stranger.

"I'm Grace. I'm a friend of your Uncle Rusty." Grace answered, being careful not to reveal anything to the little girl. Rusty had said that Cappie and Casey probably would've waited to tell Alana.

Alana's face brightened at the mention of her uncle's name. She hadn't heard from him in a week and had yet to receive any packages. Alana knew her uncle must be busy, but she still missed him fiercely. Maybe he had sent this friend to give her something.

"Can I come in?" Grace asked politely. The little girl nodded and led her into the house. She slipped off her shoes next to the door and looked around. The house was nice and cozy, with a neat yet lived in look. Grace smiled at the pictures on the walls. Most of them were from CRU. She recognized the campus from the time she and Rusty had visited it. Her favorite picture was of Rusty and his KT brothers in the middle of a house meeting. Rusty looked just so content to where he was, Grace couldn't help but smile.

Alana stood in her living room, observing her uncle's friend. Miss Grace seemed very interested in the pictures on the walls. Alan loved them too. They were proof that the stories her uncle told her weren't just fairytales. They had really happened. She was a scientist, after all, and every good scientist needs data to support their research. "Do you want to sit down?" Alana asked Miss Grace politely.

Grace gave her a weak smiled and replied, "Yes. Thank you." They took a seat on the large couch. Grace cleared her throat, dreading the job she had to do.

"Do you want me to get my daddy?" Alana inquired quietly, Grace shook her head no. This confused the little girl, who assumed her uncle's friend would want to talk to her parents.

Grace noticed Alana's bewildered expression and tried to explain. "I will talk to your mommy and daddy, but not today. Today I'm here to see you. Your uncle has told me a lot about you. He says you're a good little girl."

Alana brightened and asked, "Did he send you?" She knew her uncle would never forget about her.

"Yes, he did. He wanted me to give you this." Grace answered sadly. She handed the little girl a package. Alana jumped up and down in her seat. Grace got up and said goodbye. Alana tried to get her to stay, but she kindly refused. "You need to open that alone." Grace responded forcefully. She gave the little girl a bear hug and left. Grace had decided not to open her envelope until she had delivered all the envelopes.

Alana sat alone in her living room, a package in her lap. She had found scissors in the kitchen and carefully opened it. She unwrapped the bubble wrap and found a book with an envelope attached. This wasn't like her usual presents. She decided to open the envelope first. She was advanced for age and could already read, write, do complex math, and understand advanced science concepts. The letter said:

Dear Alana,

I'm sitting on a plane back home from sunny San Diego. It's a nice place; you should convince your parents to take you here one day. I would, but I soon won't be able to. I'll be gone, dead.

Yes, dead. I wanted to be the one to tell you. I'll be gone like your grandparents. I'm sure you don't remember their funerals since you were only a baby. Please don't worry about me; I'll be in heaven, free of pain. One day, we'll be together again and I know you'll have so much to tell me.

I just wanted to tell you that I didn't leave voluntarily. I died from lung cancer, a terrible disease. Maybe one day you'll find a cure for it. It wouldn't surprise me. I was thrilled that day you told me you wanted to be a scientist just like me. It baffled your parents and all their friends, but I understood. You are one of the highlights of my life and the best niece I could ask for.

I'm going to tell you one of my biggest secrets. I've been considered an outsider my whole life and that has never changed. Being an outsider isn't something you can change. I dealt with it by finding people who accepted me for me. I couldn't have been more blessed to find great brothers in your dad, Beaver, Wade, and all the others and friends like Dale, Calvin, and Ashleigh. I also couldn't have survived my time at CRU without your mom's wisdom and guidance. I guess you could say I've lived in a fairytale.

Since I won't be around to see you grow up, I'm going to give you some advice. Be who you are and live life. Don't listen to someone when they tell you that you can't have the best of two worlds and don't change to fit into a certain world. I hope you keep this letter, and use my advice as you get older. I regret that I won't be there to see you start school or get your first A. I know you'll do great things in life; remember that when no one else seems to think so. And, if you're ever looking for family, go to CRU. They're all around you. You just have to find them. I've left a few things behind for you. I think you'll enjoy them.

Love,

Uncle Rusty

Alana sat there and sobbed. She now knew why everyone was sad. Her favorite uncle was dead, gone forever. He would never come back and talk about science with her or tell her a story. Alana cried for an hour. She cried for her uncle, her family, and herself. Alana didn't know how they'd get on without Uncle Rusty, Her family felt broken, like a lenses that she couldn't fix.

After crying for a while, Alana thought of the good, She thought of her uncle and the good life he'd had. She thought about her family, how they always seem to come back in hard times. Alana knew how much her uncle loved and admired her. She reread his letter; it made her smile despite of the news in it. Alana smiled when he said she would do great things and was determined to make her uncle proud no matter what. She made two great decisions that day: to be a Zeta Beta Zeta and to find a cure for lung cancer.

Alana picked up the book off the table and read the cover. It said CRU Fairytales: A Narrative by Russell Cartwright and Assisted by Natasha Benfield. Alana felt her grief wash away. If she read these stories, then her uncle would always be alive in her heart. She opened the book and flipped through it. Her uncle had written it in sections: General CRU information, Kappa Tau Gamma, Zeta Beta Zeta, Iota Kappa Iota, Pi Pi Pi or Tri-Pi, Omega Chi Delta, Lambda Sigma Omega. Psi Phi Pi, Gamma Psi Alpha, Engineering Department, and Random. Alana flipped through the book. It was thick and extensively done. Her uncle had found stories he probably had never even heard before just for her. She smiled at her uncle's parting gift to her.

Cappie woke up from his nap feeling a lot better. He had a feeling that everything would be okay. Their CRU family would survive; it always did. No matter what fights they had and how old they got, everyone always found their way back to each either. Cappie had an interesting definition of family, one he'd defended numerous times to some very narrow-minded people. He looked over to the door and saw his little girl standing there with a book in her hands.

Cappie saw tears in Alana's eyes. The little girl walked over to him and asked, "Is Uncle Rusty gone?" Cappie's heart broke hearing that question from his daughter, but nodded yes. The little girl started to cry softly.

"What's that?" Cappie asked gently. Alana was too upset to answer the question. Instead, she handed him what was now her most treasured possession. Cappie read the cover: CRU Fairytales. He saw Rusty's name and some woman's name on the cover. Cappie remembered the little girl's request that Rusty put all of their stories into a book. He had never though Rusty would have ever took the time to do it. It just proved to Cappie how much Rusty had really loved his niece. He wanted her to have those stories; they were his legacy.

"Daddy, will you read one to me?" Alana asked with a pout. Cappie kissed her forehead and said, "Yes. Which one?" He thought it would take her a while to decide, but she immediately knew.

"Mt. Vesuvius," Alana automatically replied. It had been the last story her uncle had told her, and if she tried hard enough, she could still hear his voice telling it.

Cappie started to tell the story. Alana listened, just as engrossed in it as she had been the first time. Her dad seemed to enjoy telling the story and even added a few details of his own. After that one, they found random stories in the book and read them. Alana wanted to do the same thing for her kids one day.


	7. Casey's Letter

**Casey looked at her brother's will. He had left extremely specific instructions, ones that were clearly though out and planned. Rusty had known he wasn't going to make it; he spent his remaining time on Earth to plan for his death. She held back a sob and scanned the document. It stated that Rusty Cartwright's estate was worth $200,000,000 not including stock holdings and other assets. Casey gasped at the number; for such a rich guy, her brother had lived a pretty low-key life. 25% went to Alana, 20% to the KTs, 5% went to Evan's campaign, 10% to Cyprus Rhodes University, 15% to Dale, 10% to Casey and Cappie, 10% to Calvin's organization, and 5% to someone named Grace Asher. Casey didn't know who that was but knew she must be important if Rusty left her $10,000,000. She read further and saw that Rusty had set up a trust fund for Alana and the KTs. Casey laughed at the fact that the Kappa Taus were now richer that the Omega Chis. She also saw that Dobbler's had been left to Wade, Jeremy, and Ferret, who had been running it, along with enough money for everything necessary. Egyptian Joe and Beaver now both co-owned Gentleman's Choice and were instructed to continue with the tradition of closing to KTs only every Saturday. Rusty had left Calvin the apartment and his car; Ashleigh got all of his valuable memorabilia and research papers. Evan even received quite a bit of significant stock. Rusty hadn't forgotten about anybody. **

**Someone knocked on the door of Casey's small office. "Come in," she managed to answer calmly. It was her secretary, Margie. **

"**There's a lady here who says she needs to see you urgently about a personal matter," she said grouchily. Margie was seventy years old and none too pleased that she still had to work for a living. **

"**Bring her in," Casey responded casually. Margie stomped of the office. A girl with short brown hair and an amazing tan stepped into her office. Casey knew she was out of town just by her tan; no one tans like that in Washington DC. The girl seemed reluctant, almost scared to talk to her.**

"**Hi, I'm Grace Asher. Rusty wanted me to come see you." she said shyly. Rusty had assured her that Casey wouldn't freak out or do anything weird.**

**Casey looked at Grace for a moment. Why would her brother send this girl? Casey waited a moment before replying, "Sit down." Grace sat in the uncomfortable wooden chair. Casey sat up straighter and tried to read the girl's expression. She had little success. "Why did my brother want you to meet me?" Casey asked suspiciously. **

**Grace hesitated a bit before answering. "I met Rusty a year ago. I wasn't into him at first, but he pursued me. I thought he was an ignorant scientist like all the rest, but he surprised me. Rusty told me stories about his college days and what wonderful friends he had made there. I heard a lot about you, Cappie, Alana, and everyone else. He just lit up when he talked about you guys, like a little kid at Christmas. I knew he was different, so I gave him a shot. We didn't tell anybody because we liked our privacy. Six months ago, Rusty began to complain about a really bad sore throat so I convinced him to go see a doctor. He did and the doctor diagnosed him with stage four lung cancer, 95% chance of death. I wanted to stand by his side and help him fight it, but Rusty wouldn't let me. He said he couldn't let me watch him die; that it would just make his death more painful. So we broke up and I left." Grace started to cry a bit at this point, but continued. "Right after he went to see you, he flew out to San Diego to say goodbye because I asked him to. The minute I picked him up from the airport I knew his time was limited; he told me that treatment had stopped working and that he was just relying on heavy doses of some pretty strong painkillers. We went to eat and he asked me a favor. I agreed to do it for him and we said goodbye." **

**Casey sat there dumbfounded. Rusty had so much more to his life than she knew. "What was the favor?" she asked Grace softly. Casey wanted everything about her brother she could get her hands on.**

"**I'm supposed to give you this," Grace said, handing her an envelope. Casey stared at it; her name was written in Rusty's neat handwriting on the front.**

"**What is it?" Casey asked desperately. What did he possibly have for her in such a small envelope? There wasn't enough room for an apology in there.**

"**I'm just the messenger," Grace confessed sheepishly. Rusty hadn't let her read any of the letters. It had been part of the favor. **

"**Thank you," Casey replied sincerely. Grace nodded and left. She knew that was the girl had been Rusty's soul mate just because she had the guts to deliver the envelope. Casey opened it to find a letter and a tiny velvet box. She opened the box to find Rusty's active pin on a thin sliver chain. She looked at the letter. It said:**

**Dear Casey,**

**I don't know what to say. There are so many things I wish I could write, but I've only got so much time and strength. Since we always tell the truth, I'm going to tell you something. The pain is unbearable; it's like the worst hangover of your life plus all the colds you've ever had times hundred. I try to keep thinking optimistically like Ashleigh, but I just can't do it Case. I'm ready to go, which is why I'm writing this letter. I need to say goodbye and somehow make sure you'll be okay. **

**You just met my soul mate and I'm sure you knew it as soon as she left. That was Grace. She's something else. She's a journalist and actually reminds of Rebecca sometimes, but in a good way. If things had gone differently, if I hadn't gotten sick, I would've married her. We would've been like one of those couples who stay together forever. I think you know the type. But, life is funny. It doesn't always lead you down the road you think. Cappie probably knows this better than anyone. You can let Cappie read this letter; his is on the way. **

**I want to say thank you. Thanks for being a good sister whenever I needed you, even if you weren't in the mood to deal with me. Thanks for believing in me. I know you were apprehensive at first about me coming to CRU, but it was the best thing that could've happened to me. I wouldn't be where I am today without you. **

**I want you to know that I have no regrets about my life; there is nothing to be sad about. I've been in love, had success, and people who care about me. Here's some advice for you, Case. Try to live life without regret. You never want to think of the what-ifs. I know you've been talking about running for the House for years, so I think it's time you start doing it. No regrets, Casey.**

**I left you my active pin because I wanted you to have my real treasure. Kappa Tau is my home, and it always will be. After graduation, everyone else wanted to go somewhere. I just wanted to stay where I was. I was depressed. Cappie probably didn't tell you about it, but I nearly gave up science right then. My brothers helped me get back up on my feet. I owe everything to the KTs; they keep me who I am. I'll miss you guys wherever I am. Take good care of that niece of mine. Take risks. **

**Love, **

**Rusty**

**Tears started flowing down Casey's face. Nobody in there family had ever had lung cancer; why Rusty? She knew he had never done any experiment that would lead to cancer. He had just been unlucky. She undid the clasp of the chain and put it on. It was like a little piece of her brother by her heart. Casey rubbed it for strength. She didn't know what would happen in the future, all she had was now. **

**Cappie was watching tv with their daughter when Casey got home. Alana quietly got up and went to her room, knowing her parents would want to talk. Casey sat down next to Cappie and handed him the envelope. "Read it," she told him softly. Cappie took out the letter and was engrossed in it. Casey muted the volume of the tv. **

**Cappie read the letter. Rusty's description of his pain made Cappie analyze his last visit. Would anything have changed if he had confronted Rusty? He came to the conclusion that nothing would've changed. Rusty had already known he was going to die. He was baffled by Rusty's statement about meeting his soul mate; Cappie always thought that would be something Spitter would've told them right away. He smiled at the part where Rusty said life can lead down a different road than planned. Rusty was right; Cappie never thought he'd be married with a daughter and working as a house father at a branch of Kappa Tau in DC, but he was. He looked at the chain around Casey's neck and saw Rusty's active pin. He remembered when Rusty nearly gave up science for good. **

**He had called Cappie year months after his graduation and insisted he needed to see him. Cappie came down ton Cyprus and met Rusty at Dobbler's. Rusty looked awful, like all the hope had been sucked out of him. "I can't do this anymore Cap. Everyone is leaving; I just don't know what to do. I can't get funding for research, and I'm not paying rent. I'm ready to call it quits." he had told Cappie, his eyes bloodshot and his body frail.**

**Cappie tried to cheer him up. "Spitter, life is hard and uncertain, but you got move past that. I was shit scared when I followed your sister to DC and when I proposed, but I didn't give up. And you shouldn't either." **

"**Easy for you to say. You have Casey; I'm alone." Rusty responded angrily. He did have a point. Almost everybody had someone else. Cappie had Casey, Evan had Rebecca, his pledge bros were all living in the same area working odd jobs, and Ashleigh and Calvin were sharing an apartment in New York. **

**After that visit, Cappie sprang into action. He called up all the KTs and asked them to help Rusty out. Beaver and Wade let him stay in their apartment, and Egyptian Joe gave him a job selling his odd products. All of the support lifted Rusty's spirits, and he went back to his research. Soon, he perfected his wire. **

**Casey looked at her husband, who was obviously having a flashback. "Cap? Why didn't you tell me?" she asked sadly. Casey would've jumped at the opportunity to help her brother.**

"**He didn't want you to be ashamed of him. For the first time, you had an idea of where you were going while he was stuck in the dead end." Cappie replied calmly. **

**Casey nodded. "I miss him Cap." she whispered, a tear rolling down her face. Cappie wiped it away.**

"**I know," he responded, his eyes watery. "But, we'll get through this. We're a family. That's what Rusty would've wanted." **

**Casey knew what he meant. Rusty had frequently rushed for the same reason everyone had but were too afraid to admit: he had been looking for friends. He had found that he had received a family. The phone rang and Casey answered it. It was some press hound wanting details on Rusty's death, Ever since Ashleigh released an official statement that Rusty had died, everyone wanted to know more about him. They called and sent things.**

**Suddenly, a commercial caught Cappie's eyes. He turned off the mute and listened. There was a picture of Rusty and someone talking about him. "The last interview Rusty Cartwright gave before his surprise death. Rusty Cartwright was a world-renowned scientist with a Nobel Prize, but he just thought of himself as a regular guy." It cut to Rusty saying, "I'm just a guy who does what he loves. I haven't really changed much." The reporter continued. "He started out as a Polymer Science major at Cyprus Rhodes University and soon shocked many by rushing the party fraternity, Kappa Tau Gamma." It cut to Rusty again. "Everyone told me that I couldn't do both. I guess you could say I proved them wrong. Rushing Kappa Tau was the best decision I've ever made in my life. I gained so many life-long friends from the experience." The reporter finished up by saying, "Learn more about this amazing engineers life next Wednesday at seven." **

**Casey and Cappie looked at each other, shocked. Rusty rarely gave interviews and always stuck to talking about science when he did. They called all their friends and arranged for them to come watch the interview at their house. The couple went to check on their daughter, who was sleeping. They went into the kitchen and had a drink. They reminisced about their best college stories. Casey knew she was drunk, but it that moment, she thought they would be able to move on from this. Cappie knew better.**


	8. Cappie's Letter

Cappie sighed, taking a sip of his morning coffee. In college, he had never anticipated that life would be this difficult. Then again, he also didn't see Rusty dying at twenty-nine either. They all had thought Spitter would outlive them all, mostly because he drank the least. Life had a twisted sense of humor that Cappie didn't really find amusing.

It was Monday morning, and he had the day off. Casey had already left for work while Alana was over at a friend's house. Cappie spent the morning lounging around the house in his pajamas, waiting. He was waiting for his letter to come; Rusty said it would be coming in a couple of days.

Grace stepped up to the front door. Her last visit here had gone relatively well. She hoped she hadn't done anything to the little girl that would scare her. Alana being hurt would've upset Rusty. And Grace wouldn't be able to live with herself if she disappointed him, dead or alive. She breathed in the crisp DC air and knocked on the door.

Cappie sprung from the chair, where he had been watching Garfield from, and answered the door. And yes, adults can still watch Garfield. It's a classic. "Hello! You must be Grace." he said eagerly.

Grace eyed the energetic man who had answered the door. Rusty had described him to an exact tee. Yet, at the same time, she also recognized the sadness in Cappie's eyes that had been haunting her ever since Rusty had came to see her. Grace now knew why she had been picked for this job. She was supposed meet these people, all of them a piece of him. Rusty had wanted her to discover who he had been.

"Yes. And you're Cappie." Grace answered cautiously. She could tell just from his greeting that he was her kind of people.

"Also known as Ruler of the Universe," Cappie joked. Then, remembering his manners, he added, "Please come in."

Grace thanked him and walked into the cozy house. She looked around and was pleased to see all the pictures still on the walls, her eyes flickering over to that one of a Kappa Tau meeting.

Cappie noticed her studying the pictures and saw that her eyes slid over to one picture in particular. It was one of a Kappa Tau meeting. Elections for all offices had been held, and Rusty was named president shortly after that picture was taken. Cappie smiled at the memory. He had been graduating and proud that his little brother was following in his footsteps. "That was the day Rusty was elected president of Kappa Tau. We had the most legendary party since Vesuvius that night to celebrate." Cappie said, his mine wandering through memory lane.

Grace turned to face him, her expression soft. "I didn't know that. I knew there was a reason I loved that picture so much the first time I saw it. It was the happiest I've ever seen Rusty. He just seemed so content and in place."

"He loved Kappa Tau; it was his home. And I thought I had an attachment to that place. He never even left the area. I can make a copy a that picture if you want." Cappie responded sincerely.

Grace smiled a rueful smile and answered, "Thank you. That would be great." She reached into her large tote bag and pulled out a white envelope. It had the name Cappie written on it in neat print. Grace handed it to him.

Cappie just stared at the letter for a moment. These were Rusty's last words to him, and he wasn't sure he was ready to read them. It was like if he ignored the letter, Rusty's death wouldn't be real. "Thank you," he whispered. Grace nodded her head and left.

Cappie sat down, opened up a beer, and ripped open the envelope. The letter said:

Dear Cappie,

I'm writing this in the waiting room of my doctor's office. I've been advised, or forced depending how you look at it, to have daily appointments now. Ashleigh and Calvin insist it's so I can continue fighting, but I know better. I'm going to die soon; I can feel it in my aching bones. I'm fighting a lost battle, Cap. I have to take six painkillers just to go to sleep at night. I didn't tell Ashleigh or Calvin this because they'd insist on making me stay in the hospital. I can't do that.

I want to start by saying sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you or anyone else what was going on. It may have been a bad idea but still one I'm sticking by. It's hard watching the people you love be in constant pain. I didn't want to see you worried over me. It would've hurt too much.

Out of all the people I'm giving letters to, you're the only one I don't have any advice for. You clearly don't need my advice. You have Casey, Alana, a job you like, and hopefully a killer car. In fact, I wish you could give me advice right now.

If you haven't read my will already, I'm going to drop a bomb on you. The Kappa Taus have gained $40,000,000, or 20% of my estate. Part of my instructions for the money was that they were to rebuild Vesuvius. Otherwise, they were free to do whatever they want with the rest. Here's where you come one. I need you to go back to Kappa Tau and make sure the money doesn't change them. Help them keep the KT traditions alive. If you do that, I'll be a happy man wherever I am.

Take care of our girls, Cap. Keep my sister happy and help her follow her dreams. And when Vesuvius is done, take Alana to see it. She'd like to see it. Make sure everyone stays together. You're the leader of the family. Stay you, Cap.

Sincerely,

Spitter

A feather could've knocked him over right then. It was mind-blowing to think that the Kappa Taus were now actually richer than the Omega Chis. Cappie knew how that could potentially change the house forever. They might become stuck-up snobs like the Omega Chis. They'd throw boring parties with fancy drinks. Cappie shuddered at the horrifying thought. He knew this was also a good thing too. Vesuvius was going to be rebuilt, there would always be money in the party fund, they'd be able to lower dues, and repairs could finally be done.

Cappie pondered all these things while searching for flights later in the week, preferably Friday. He found one at 6 in the morning out Friday and pressed buy. Ah, the wonders of the Internet. He printed out his ticket and hid it in his sock drawer. The last thing Cappie wanted was for Casey to find it before he could explain. His wife exploded over the most random things. For example, Cappie had made a joke about her hair color and Casey had thrown a shoe at his head, leaving a heel dent in the wall.

He calmly smiled to himself as he thought of the upcoming trip. He had last been to Kappa Tau eight months ago for an alumni gathering. Cappie knew Rusty's death must be hitting those guys hard. After all, Rusty had been the favorite alumni among the KTs. He came to visit every weekend and bonded with the guys over beer pong and girls. Rusty taught them the secret of beer pong and gave them any advice they needed on girls. Turns out Rusty was a bigger ladies' man then ever suspected. The university would always beg him to go to fancy dinners and parties, the invitations of which Rusty would politely decline in favor of drinking with the KTs. People would ogle him at Dobbler's, in awe of his presence, while the Kappa Tau didn't even notice the attention. That wasn't who Rusty was to them. To the Kts, Rusty was Spitter, the brother who made ir rain beer. That was his real legacy.


	9. The Interview, Part 1

Ashleigh sat in the couch next to Casey and sipped her drink. All of their friends were there, all of them waiting for Rusty's interview to air. She found it odd that he hadn't told her about. Ashleigh was the one who had handled all his press, after all. Still, she was slowly learning more about Rusty now that he was gone. Like the fact he had broken up with Grace, not the other way around. This confused Ashleigh to no end; he had been head-over-heels in love with that girl.

"Aunt Ashleigh?" She looked up to Alana standing in front of her, a book in her hands. Ashleigh smiled; the girl reminded her of Rusty.

"Yes, sweetie?" she asked her godchild nicely. Ashleigh hadn't been too surprised when she was made Alana's godmother. She and Casey were best friends after all. She had been shocked that Beaver was made Alana's godfather. He was still a little kid himself. Ashleigh suspected it was a ploy on her best friend's part to get her and Beaver together. No one understood that it would never happen.

"Will you read me a story?" Alana asked sweetly. She wanted to show her favorite aunt the book her Uncle Rusty left her.

"Sure. What are we reading?" Ashleigh answered happily. Alana handed her the book, and Ashleigh's jaw dropped. Rusty's name was on the cover, along with some editor chick. Casey noticed the stunned expression on her best friend's face.

"Alana, Aunt Ashleigh will read you a story later. The interview's about to come on." Casey cut in cautiously. Alana nodded and skipped off to talk to Beaver about her favorite toys. Even kid geniuses loved toys. "Ash.."

"Don't," Ashleigh said sternly. She didn't want her best friend trying to comfort her. It wouldn't make a difference. Rusty would still be gone.

"Fine," Casey replied calmly. She couldn't get made at her best friend for being upset. Ashleigh had known about Rusty's illness from the beginning and had witnessed it all. Casey couldn't imagine what that would've been like.

Luckily, the friends' uncomfortable conversation was interrupted by Ben Bennett shouting, "It's on!" Everyone turned towards the huge TV. There was a professional-looking, brunette woman talking. Cappie turned the volume up.

"Russell Cartwright, or Rusty as his friends called him, was a world-renowned scientist famous for his reconducting wire and humble roots. His death has rocked the scientific world, making his contributions all the more prominent. I had the valuable privilege of interviewing him a few weeks ago, the last interview he ever gave." It cut to the interview. The brunette was sitting behind a table with Rusty on the other side. Ashleigh and Calvin were forced to relieve how awful their friend had looked towards the end, while everyone else was shocked by how their friend went down.

"Mr. Cartwright, it's a pleasure to meet you," the brunette said cheerfully. It felt wrong to hear people call Rusty Mr. Cartwright.

"Please Megan, call me Rusty. Mr. Cartwright was my dad." Rusty replied jokingly, his eyes glinting in their unique way. Cappie was pleased to see that Rusty's personality made it to the end.

"Okay then, Rusty. What was your childhood like?" Megan asked eagerly. Casey groaned; there were so many bad things he could say.

Rusty chose his answer carefully. "My childhood was ordinary. Both my parents were professors, so school was always my top priority. I fell in love with Polymer Science when I bought Silly Putty at nine years old. My sister was the outgoing, popular one. She always had a lot of friends and boyfriends. I was more of the loner type. We weren't particularly close growing up."

"So, were you jealous of your sister? Who was the favorite?" Megan asked curiously. There were so many ways that story could be twisted.

You could see the hesitation on Rusty's face before he answered that question. "There was a lot of sibling rivalry between Casey and me growing up, but we smoothed it out during our time at CRU." Casey smiled at the positive light he had painted her in. Truth was that she had been a bitch to her brother up until he came to CRU. Rusty had really surprised his sister by rushing Kappa Tau; she had thought she'd had him pegged. Rusty had proved himself by joining the world that was so important to his sister.

"So, tell me more about your experience at Cyprus Rhodes University. From previous interviews, I can tell that it's had a huge impact on your life," Megan prodded, her eyes sparkling. Everyone wanted the scoop on Rusty's CRU years; no one had any details. Only his former teachers had been interview, and they had only known the engineer side of him.

"Well, I applied to a lot of different schools. I got into most of them, but something about CRU drew me there. I don't know if I wanted to go there to have a better relationship with Casey or to have some fun. It was probably a little bit of both. I arrived as this geeky freshman who just wanted to have fun." Rusty replied with a chuckle.

"Why did you decide to rush Kappa Tau Gamma?" Megan asked seriously. It was the puzzle no one could figure out. There were other fraternities at CRU that had seemed so much more suitable for Rusty.

All the KTs in the room listened a little harder to the answer to that question. Truthfully, they never understood why a smart guy like Rusty even bothered with them in the first place. Rusty could've easily joined Omega Chi or Psi Phi Pi. Yet, he became a Kappa Tau.

"I went through rush and saw all the other fraternities on campus. I was desperate to be accepted by at least one of them, but only Kappa Tau and Omega Chi stuck out in my mind. I liked Omega Chi for all the normal reasons: they were rich, popular, had good connections, and had girls." Rusty responded nonchalantly.

"What was your first impression of Kappa Tau?" Cappie was curious to hear this one. Most people who had just been to Kappa Tau either thought they were amazing or idiots.

"I thought that they really knew how to throw a party. I actually got my nickname at that party. I had just met meet Cappie, who was the KT president at the time, and he said he wanted me to meet someone." Rusty continued the story, earning a huge laugh from his interviewer when he got to the spitting part.

Cappie remembered that night so vividly. He always remembered the first party of the year, but that one was special. He remembered how nervous Rusty had been and laughed a little to himself. Cappie had enjoyed talking to the naïve freshman who thought in the biblical season meant from church. Rusty spitting on Lisa Lawson impressed him a bit. Out of all the potential brothers, Rusty was the only one that any of the hung-over brothers' minds. He was forever known as Spitter.

Everyone's attention snapped back into focus when the interviewer said, "We will continue after this short commercial interruption." Everyone groaned. The Sparks Network was known for its notoriously long commercial breaks. Casey got up and went into the kitchen to grab snacks. Her husband followed her.

"He was too nice," Casey whispered softly. Cappie could only nod and hug her. He hadn't known who Casey was, he only knew who she is now.

"Whatever he said is what he believed," Cappie stated firmly. Rusty was never someone who lied to spare other people feelings. He'd told Casey that Evan had cheated on her even though it cost him a spot at Omega Chi. Rusty had been someone with a lot of integrity.

Alana watched all of this from her dad's favorite chair. She liked the interview because it reminded her of the book she'd been given. Alana also found comfort in hearing her uncle's voice again. She hoped the sound would never leave her memory.


	10. The Interview, Part 2

Casey looked around her family room, counting the number of friends she found. The group was waiting for Rusty's interview to come back on. She picked at the lasagna on her plate. Suddenly, Casey heard someone shout, "It's back on!" She felt Cappie sit down next her.

Megan and Rusty were both sitting in the same spots. Megan was smiling in that plotting, evil way most reporters did. Rusty was just sitting there, his face completely relaxed. "So, Rusty, what was your freshman year like?"

This question made Rusty smile. Cappie recognized the playful glint in his eyes. "Well, the only word I can think of is chaotic. My Polymer Science classes were very different that what I thought it would be. My professor was a real grouch, but I learned to like him by the time I graduated." Only Dale laughed at this. He knew how little love was lost between Dr. Hastings and Rusty. Ironically, Dr. Hastings was the first person Rusty thanked in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

"On top of that, I was adjusting to the Greek system. Life was a lot different in the Kappa Tau house. The guys were eclectic at best, but it was easy to like them. Sure, they took mid-afternoon naps, drank whiskey before five, and always had girls around, but they were great guys who always had my back. They helped me win over girls, turn in late assignments, and everything else." Rusty paused for a second. "Without my Kappa Tau brothers, I would've never gotten the idea for my wire or continued working on it. Without them, I would've given up science after graduation."

This shocked everyone in the room who wasn't a Kappa Tau brother except Casey. Dale's jaw was practically on the floor. Sure, he knew Rusty had had it rough after graduation, but he didn't know it had got that bad.

"Can you explain that last part?" Megan prodded. She felt like she had hit the jackpot here. Rusty the Nobel Prize Winner wanting to give up science?

"Well, after I graduated, I felt really alone. My sister and Cappie, my KT big brother and Casey's boyfriend, were in DC, where Casey was going to law school. My friends Ashleigh and Calvin were sharing an apartment in New York City, and my friend Dale was working on a grant in England. All my KT brothers were spread all over. I was barely scrapping by and making rent each month. No one would fund my research, mostly because none of them thought my wire was a practical long-term project. Luckily, I had the brains to tell this to Cappie, who called some of my brothers who offered to let me life with them. It was a lot of fun living with the guys I had pledged with, and it gave me hope. Cappie's KT big brother, Egyptian Joe, gave me a job selling his products. He was an inventor. This got me back on my feet, and I was able to fund my own research." This made Egyptian Joe smile to himself; his products were bigger hits than everyone thought. He remembered that Rusty had been especially impressed by the edible, candy-flavored Silly Putty.

"What were some of the Kappa Tau's best qualities? From what I've heard from CRU faculty, there aren't many." Megan asked lightly. Everyone could tell this question had pissed Rusty off. He was grinding his teeth in that way that had always made Casey nervous.

"Well, the faculty will always only know one side of the story. If you asked one of my professors about me, they would tell you what a good student I was. They wouldn't tell you that in my sophomore year, my class called me the Anchor because I was trying to balance a girlfriend, Kappa Tau, and Polymer Science." Dale looked down at his feet, ashamed. He knew that cruel insult had haunted Rusty since the minute it started. Rusty's biggest motivation had always been that insult; he was aiming to prove them wrong. And, thankfully, he had. "They also wouldn't tell you that, when I was supposed to be making up work for my class, I was at the End of the World Party with my girlfriend." Both Casey and Cappie frowned at that memory; it was still a sore spot for them.

"What I know about the KTs is this: they're great, fun, loyal guys who have your back through thick and thin. Sure, they're not ambitious and studious like the Omega Chis," Rusty made a face as he said that part, "But that's what makes them unique. Kappa Tau is all about brotherhood and fun. We take care of our own and don't take life too seriously. KTs believe that life will always figure itself out; it was one of the most important life lessons I've ever learned. John Lennon said, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." That's the perfect quote to fit the Kappa Tau lifestyle. They let life happen, and I have to say, it works for them."

"You still live in Cyprus, correct?" Megan asked. Rusty nodded his head. "How often do you visit the CRU campus?"

"Every weekend," Rusty answered casually. Everyone else in the world watching this interview must have been shocked, but no one at Cappie and Casey's house was. They all knew that Kappa Tau was Rusty's home; he couldn't be to leave it. "I go and hang out with the brothers. It helps me keep my life in perspective. We go to Dobbler's and have a beer. I help them with their problems and give them advice. It's always a good time."

"Do any of your friends treat you differently from when you were in college?" Megan asked curiously. Rusty Cartwright was famous for his relaxed attitude, something unheard of from many scientists of his level. He refused to put on any fancy airs like his colleagues.

"No," Rusty answered honestly. Ashleigh smiled, knowing how right he was. Casey still gave him advice, the KTs still called him Spitter, Rebecca and Evan were always jokingly insulting him, and Dale still lectured him on the state of his soul. Nothing had really changed. "My friends still call me Spitter and remember all my greatest and worst moments. When someone calls me Mr. Cartwright in front of them, they shoot that person a weird look. That's not who I am to them. To the rest of the world, I'm a great scientist. To my friends, I'm the guy who made it ran beer and put farm animals in the Omega Chi house."

Megan tried another question, hopping to find a bad part to Rusty's past. "What's the current state of your love life?" she tried desperately. Megan wanted to try to find a question that he won't answer.

Rusty only smiled innocently and replied, "Single and living with my best friend, Calvin." Casey knew he wasn't about to go into detail about Grace. At least, not on live TV.

"How's life as the world most eligible bachelor then?" Megan asked, hoping to get something exciting out of him. Rusty was so much of a normal person it was scary.

Rusty smirked. "Very normal. I hang out with the Kts on weekends or I rent out DVDs from Blockbuster. Sometimes I go to the library and check out everything on ancient tortures because I think it's interesting. I go visit my sister every month, and my pledge brothers and I try to hang out every month or so."

"That's it?" Megan asked in shock. The guy was one of the richest scientists on the planet, and he lived like any normal dude.

Rusty shrugged indifferently. "My life is pretty boring. I don't have many friends outside of my CRU gang because all the scientists I know take themselves way too seriously. I don't like to spend that much money unless it's on others. I enjoy spoiling my niece. She's a little genius, so I send her top of the line equipment and such."

Megan paused a moment before asking her last question. "Is there anything about your life you regret?"

Rusty gave her a sad smile before answering. "Yes and no. I don't regret anything I've done. I made a lot of good choices: going to CRU, rushing Kappa Tau, dating the girls I did, making the friends I did, spitting on that girl at my first KT party, all of it. I don't want to change anything in my past. I feel like I did it all right. But, there are things I am going to miss." Rusty took a deep breath before continuing. "I'll miss seeing my niece grow up and achieve great things, seeing Dale's research soar, watching my sister go after her dreams, watching movies with Ashleigh and Calvin, hanging out with the KTs, listening to my pledge brothers argue about Austin Powers. But, everything in life happens for a reason."

Rusty turned towards the camera and started to thank everyone he cared about. "Case, thank you for being a great older sister. I couldn't have asked for a better one." This made Casey cry, and she gently sobbed into Cappie's shoulder. He just rubbed her back reassuringly. "Cappie, you were the best big brother a guy could ask for. You taught me what brotherhood meant." Cappie just smiled sadly, proud of Rusty for doing this interview right.

"Alana, sweetie, I hope you know how much I love you. Thank you for being such a sweet, bright little girl." This made everyone tear up a little, except for Alana.

She understood that her uncle didn't want her to be sad. Alana simply responded, in a room where you could hear a pin drop, "I love you too, Uncle Rustey. I hope you're having fun in heaven." Her last statement made Dale grin. He hoped his best friend was up there with the Father.

"Calvin, Ashleigh, thank you for sticking it out with me," Rusty started to choke up as he said that last part. "I appreciate it." Ashleigh started to cry when she finally felt a pair of strong arms around her. She looked up to see it was Beaver but didn't push him away.

"Thank you to every KT out there. Don't be afraid to do the unexpected. No matter what people say, you can go somewhere." Rusty emphasized the last part of his sentence.

"Grace, I hope you forgive me someday. I love you." Rusty nearly whispered. It cut to the credits. By then, almost everyone in the room was crying. The interview had made Rusty's death more valid, more real. Now, all anyone could do was wait for their letters to arrive. It was going to be a long wait for some.


	11. Ashleigh's Letter

Ashleigh sat in her desk doing paperwork. She sighed. Being in marketing always meant filling out a lot of paperwork. Still, her job was worth. Ashleigh loved what she did and was good at it. Still, her life felt empty somehow.

"Hey, Ash?" Ashleigh turned around to see her bubbly assistant, Jennifer, standing at the doorway, a message in her hand. "Someone called for you during the Hershey's meeting. I took a message."

"Leave it on my desk," Ashleigh responded, turning back to her paperwork. Jennifer did as her boss said and left. After finishing what she was doing, Ashleigh grabbed the pink Post-It off her desk and read it. It caught her off guard to say the least.

Ashleigh,

Meet me for lunch at 4. I have something for you.

Grace

She knew how mean she had been to Grace after she and Rusty had broken up. So why would she want to have lunch with me, Ashleigh wondered. Then a thought hit her. Grace had her letter. It only made logical sense. Grace had personally delivered every letter so far. Ashleigh suspected that even though Grace didn't really like her, the girl still wouldn't go against Rusty's wishes.

Ashleigh glanced at her watch; it was a quarter to 4. She got up and grabbed her jacket. She knew where Grace was planning on meeting her. There was a small Mexican restaurant within walking distance. Ashleigh usually took a lunch break there on days she wasn't swamped. Rusty had hated that restaurant, always complaining about how greasy the food was. Calvin didn't care for it either, but he had always left the complaining up to Rusty.

Ashleigh searched around the familiar restaurant before spotting Grace. It made her feel better to see that the girl looked as miserable as she did. Ashleigh approached the booth, desperately trying to keep her expression neutral. "Hey," she said quietly. Grace gave her a sad smile.

"Hey," she said in response. Grace studied Ashleigh's features only to see a reflection of her own. Grace just felt more tired than ever nowadays, especially after watching Rusty's interview. Seeing him lit up while telling stories only made the girl's heart ache more. The idea of Rusty being gone had yet to settle into Grace's mind.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Grace started going through her purse. She finally found the envelope and handed it to Ashleigh. "You know what it is."

Ashleigh stared at the letter in her hand. She felt like she was holding a Bible or something sacred in her hands. "Thank you." Ashleigh whispered, not looking up when Grace got out of the booth.

"No problem," Grace said smoothly. She turned around and added, "We'll both be okay." Ashleigh only smiled as the love of Rusty's life walked out of the restaurant and hopefully back to a happy life. She knew just by seeing how broken the girl was that Grace had really loved Rusty. Ashleigh took back all the nasty things she had thought and said about Grace. If the girl had really loved Rusty, then she wished nothing than the best for her.

Ashleigh opened the envelope and stared at the letter. It said:

Dear Ashleigh,

I'm sitting in bed, obeying my doctor's orders. I'm really starting to hate that doctor. I know you would tell me, "Rusty's he's just doing this in your best interest,", but I don't care. I'm sick of this life, of living like this. Going to doctor appointments all the time, taking tons of medication. Ash, I'm not going to lie to you: I'm kind of looking forward to death in a way. I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth. I'm sick of the pain. It's too strong for me, for this body. If I were Superman then maybe I'd be okay, but I'm not Superman, I'm just Rusty.

Now, how do I give advice to the person who's constantly handing it out. It's a pretty hard job, but I think I'll manage. So here's my advice: Take a risk. That's all I'm going to tell you. Take a risk. Go out and meet a guy who's worthy of you. It may not be who you think it is. I'm not going to name names, but there's a guy we both know who practically worships you. Beaver adores you, Ash, and I think he'd take good care of you. He's grown up since college and is good at his job. Give the poor guy a chance.

Now, I don't want you to bury yourself in work like I know when you're upset. That's no way to live. Take it from me, life is fleeting. Capture every minute and make it worth something. I know you're busy taking care of everyone else, but don't forget to take a minute for yourself.

Sincerely,

Rusty

Ashleigh put down the letter. Rusty's description of the pain was too vivid for her. Ashleigh could feel his pain just by reading the letter. She suddenly felt bad for pushing Rusty to continue treatment as long as he did. Something in the back of her head stopped her. He wanted those last few months, a voice in the back of her head reminded her. He needed those last few months. And in hindsight, she was probably right. Rusty had given that interview last minute, and without treatment, he wouldn't have been able to. Plus, Rusty didn't have to spend all of his time slowly dying on a hospital bed.

She walked back to her office in a frenzy. Ashleigh got into the room and picked up the phone. She dialed the number of Dobbler's she knew by heart. Wade answered, "Hello, Dobbler's. How may I help you?" Ashleigh had to hold back a laugh; Wade sounded so polite and un-Wade like.

"Hey, Wade. It's Ashleigh. Can I talk to Beaver please?" Ashleigh asked nervously. She didn't know why she was nervous. Everyone who knew Beaver could guarantee that if Ashleigh asked him out, he'd say yes right away.

"Oh, sure," Wade responded in his normal tone. She could hear a muffled shout, "Beaver! The girl you're obsessed wants to talk to you." Ashleigh felt a light blush spread across her cheeks.

She could hear Wade hand Beaver the phone and say something along the lines of don't blow it. "Hey, Ashleigh," Beaver said, trying to remain calm. "What's up?"

Ashleigh was speechless. "Well, um, I was wondering if you could do me a favor." Everyone at Dobbler's saw Beaver's face drop.

"Okay. What do you need me to do?" Beaver asked, his tone more business like now.

"Well, you see, Calvin works on Saturday nights, and since everyone else is so far away, I get very lonely. So, I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me this weekend? Around 8 o'clock?" Ashleigh inquired coyly.

Beaver's jaw dropped. He hadn't seen that coming. Ashleigh had rejected him so many times. "Um, sure. That would be great. I'll pick you up at 8:45."

"Great," Ashleigh happily replied. She felt butterflies in her chest, the first in a long time. "Bye!"

Beaver couldn't even mumble a goodbye. He stood there speechless. "Beav, you okay?" Wade asked curiously.

"I got the girl!" Beaver screamed as loud as possible. Everyone in Dobbler's, drunk and sober started to cheer. Beaver's friends all looked at him in shock. They never though he'd ever actually get a date with Ashleigh.

"Damn! I lost the bet!" Wade realized after watching all of this unfold. Jeremy looked smug as he pocketed twenty bucks. No one realized they should be silently thanking Rusty for all of this.


	12. Dale's Letter

Dale was in the lab, working in his latest research project. There was a lot of buzz around it in the scientific community, so he was under enormous pressure to finish. It reminded him of long nights at CRU trying to beat Rusty and win the grant money. Dale, surprisingly, had a better start after college than Rusty. He went to work as a research assistant to some hotshot scientist and did his own research on the side. Rusty, however, decided to work odd jobs and find sponsors to continue his wire project. By then, the buzz about the wire wearied off, and no one wanted to invest with it. Dale watched Rusty go on a downward spiral, not leaving his apartment or taking anyone's calls. He told Dale he was thinking of giving up science all together. Dale, being the rational mind he was, told Rusty to go talk to Cappie before doing anything stupid. Luckily, Cappie convinced his little brother to keep trying and got him an apartment and job with the KTs. Despite his former opposition to the Greek system, Dale had to admit that Rusty would've gone nowhere without the Kappa Taus.

Personally, Dale never thought Rusty's wire would ever work. The idea was so far-fetched; he couldn't wrap his head around it. When Rusty got the light bulb to light up for ten minutes, Dale thought it would never last any longer. The day his friend called him up and said the wire had lasted a whole week and showed no signs of failing, he nearly fell out of his chair. Everything after that was history. Rusty went from virtually unknown to the biggest engineer of their generation while Dale was still working for the now-dethroned scientist. This made him a bit jealous, but Dale was still happy for his best friend. Rusty had put his heart and soul into that wire; it was like a part of him. Dale had never been that into his research before.

Until now. He was certain he was on the brink of something big. Dale's newest research project wasn't revealed to anyway except Rusty, so all that could be said about it was that it was groundbreaking. Suddenly, a voice filled the room. "So this is what a lab looks like." Dale turned away from his research to see Rusty's ex-girlfriend standing in the lab, a look of amusement on her tired face. Calvin and Rusty had convinced him to take psychology their junior year, and he had been surprisingly good at it. Dale could tell by her expression and gestures that she was nervous, still grieving, and exhausted. He was the only person who didn't have an opinion on Rusty's last girlfriend; he personally didn't care. Rusty could date whoever he wanted to.

"Yes, it is. Is there a reason you're here?" Dale asked, being very forthright. It might've been too harsh, but he wasn't someone who sugarcoated things. Dale found that annoying. Grace gave him a forced smile. She was so ready to be done with this. Ashleigh hadn't been that bad, but Dale was brutal.

"Here's your letter," Grace answered, pulling the envelope out of her purse and handing it to him. Dale immediately felt bad. He had been raised to treat a lady better than that. Grace headed towards the door, but Dale stopped her.

"Would you like to have dinner with me? We can exchange funny stories." Dale offered sincerely. This girl had loved his best friend enough to deliver letters to every one of his friend after his death. Grace could've not followed his request and recycled them all. They would've never known. Dale thought that showed great mortals.

Grace smiled genuinely. Dale had been the only one not to ask questions and offer comfort to her. It felt good to be comforted for once. "Sure," she replied cheerfully. Dale put the letter in his coat pocket and pulled his coat on. The pair left to go have dinner at a nearby restaurant.

After dinner, the two said their goodbyes and parted ways. Dale drove home to his small, bare apartment. He entered the apartment and sat down in his favorite green chair. Dale pulled the letter out of his pocket and stared at it. He debated opening it. On one hand, the letter would probably offer some comfort to him. It was written by Rusty after all. On the other hand, Dale knew that he might not be able to handle its content. He took a deep breath and opened the letter. It said:

Dear Dale,

I've been confined to my bed, which is really annoying. Don't tell Ashleigh I said that, but it's true. Everyone tries to tell me I'll live longer if I stay inactive, but that's a load of crap and we both know it. My body grows weaker every day, and I spend more and more time reflecting on my memories. The good, the bad, everything. I think back and say to myself, "Wow, I've lived a pretty awesome life." And I have you to partly thank for that.

I want to say thank you. Thanks for being my common sense when I couldn't think clearly and for trying to direct me in the right path. I've always admired your strong faith, more particularly the way it never wavers. I've been thinking about life after death a lot lately. I remember what you always said about heaven and hell, and I've come to a conclusion. I don't entirely agree with you. God isn't as nit-picky as you think. I don't know if I'm going to heaven or hell, but I have started to pray. Not for me, but for all of you. I'm not worried about myself. I'm just waiting for the pain to stop. My prayers, if you can even call them that, completely revolve around my family, regular and CRU. Please take care of them for me.

So, here's my little piece of advice. Everyone has gotten some, and you're not above advice even though you sometimes think you are. So, here it is. Don't forget to have a little fun. If you talk to Ash, you'll both realize I gave you two similar advice. There's a reason for that. Out of everyone, I worry about you guys the most. You're both workaholics who use that to avoid any problems in your lives. That's no way to live. Life is short. You need to make every minute worth something. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. So, go out and do something totally unexpected. Go on a date, fly off to some country, or buy a cat. I know the last option is lame, but I always pegged you as a cat person. And don't worry. Taking some time for your sense doesn't mean your work stops mattering. I know you never thought you could balance a social life and science, but it's possible.

Take care of yourself. Win that Nobel Prize and get a cat. My name suggestion is Sparks, but name it what you will.

Your friend,

Rusty

Dale looked around his nearly empty apartment with new eyes. It was sad and depressing to just be in it. Maybe Rusty was right. Maybe a little fun might do him some good. Plus, Dale knew he could burn out if he kept working as hard as he was. Of course, Dale didn't want to go on vacation or on a date, so he did the next best thing. He grabbed his jacket and his keys and drove to the animal shelter. Dale picked up a gray calico kitten that he named Sparks per Rusty's request. Over the next few weeks, the cat became permanently attached to his hip. Rusty had been right; Dale was a cat person.


	13. Calvin's Letter

Calvin was sitting at the kitchen table of the apartment he had shared with Rusty doing his bills. Though it had been nice of Rusty to leave him the apartment, Calvin hated living in the apartment alone. There were too many reminders of his best friend in every room. No one could bear the thought of cleaning out Rusty's room; the death was still fresh to them. Some days, Calvin expected Rusty to just walk through the front door and apologize for being late for dinner because of a long night at the lab. He missed having a close confidant as his roommate. Calvin remembered when Ashleigh insisted he move in with Rusty like it was yesterday.

It had been a month after the diagnosis, and Rusty was already starting to slow down. Ashleigh, being the worrier she was, wanted someone to live with Rusty and make sure he was taken care of. Rusty had refused, insisting that he wasn't sharing his apartment with a total stranger. "Yes, because that's the way I'll maintain privacy," Rusty had responded when Ashleigh brought up the idea. Calvin had to admit he had a point. Being a critically acclaimed scientist who gave few interviews, any news about Rusty would spread like wildfire. It would be hard to get a stranger to keep their mouth shut about the cancer. They could make them sign a confidentially agreement, but Rusty hated dealing with lawyers. Then, one day over cappuccinos, Ashleigh came up with a brilliant idea.

"Calvin, you can move in with Rusty!" she had shouted victoriously. Before he could even open his mouth to say something, Ashleigh continued. "I mean, you have a roommate you hated, and Rusty has space. Plus, you're not a stranger, and he wouldn't feel like you're babysitting him. I would do it, but Rusty's house is an awful commute to my office."

Finally, Calvin was able to say something. "Sounds great," he replied, shocking Ashleigh in the process. Rusty was actually a great roommate. The two friends hung out a lot, so it wasn't weird when Calvin moved in. It seemed like one of their deficiencies was the other's strength. Calvin was a slob while Rusty was a neat freak, or Rusty couldn't cook while Calvin was a whiz in the kitchen. Dale liked to joke that it was God's way of saying they were meant to be roommates. Calvin smiled at the memory and put his focus back on paying his bills.

After two hours, Calvin was done. He walked over to the nearly empty fridge and grabbed a beer. Drinking beer wasn't as fun as it was in college, but it still took the edge of a long day. Calvin loved what he did as a gay rights activist, but running the operation was tough. There always seemed to be someone who wanted to make everything a little harder. For example, he tried to organize a branch in the South, and hundreds of bible-thumping rednecks sent him hate mail. Calvin knew there was a reason he liked the Midwest best.

He was disrupted from his thoughts when the doorbell rang. Calvin ran to get it, figuring it would be the Chinese food he had ordered. Instead, Grace was at the doorway. He figured he should've seen that coming. Everyone was anticipating the arrival of their letters but Calvin. He remembered watching Rusty write in a spiral notebook but never realized what he was writing. Now Calvin knew he was writing them all goodbye. He didn't want Rusty's goodbye or apologizes. He wanted his friend in their apartment, laughing at a funny picture that Cappie sent him online. The letter might give him closure, but it could also drive him further into the past. It was a complicated matter.

Grace stood there, watching Calvin think. She knew that, out of all of them, Calvin would be the least excited to get his letter. Calvin had been Rusty's roommate, there through it all, and no letter could make up for the lose of his best friend. Though losing Rusty had been a huge blow to all of them, Grace knew it was greater for the people who had actually seen Rusty on a day-to-day basis. "Yeah, um.." she said before closing her mouth. After a few moments of silence, Grace cleared her throat. "I have your letter," she stated shyly, grabbing the letter out of her purse.

Calvin just looked Grace in the eyes, not reaching out to grab the envelope like everyone else had. "Have you opened yours yet?" he asked calmly.

"No, I'm waiting until everyone else has read theirs," she answered honestly. Grace was trying to buy herself more time. With the letter unopened, she still had a piece of Rusty left. Once she read it, he was really gone.

"Why should I even bother opening it? It's not like the letter's going to change anything. Rusty's still dead. No letter will bring him back," Calvin argued more to himself than to Grace. He was trying to convince himself to take that letter and throw it in the trash, but a voice in the back of his head was nagging him: How would Rusty feel about that?

"No, the letter won't change anything. It won't bring Rusty back, but it might make the pain go away. It might have answers," Grace said softly. She handed him the envelope. "You're a good guy, Calvin. I think you'll do what's right." She walked away, leaving Calvin to his decision.

He walked back into the apartment and found his letter opener, carefully opening the envelope. Calvin hoped for the best and opened the letter. It said:

Dear Calvin,

I'm laying in my bed quietly, sufficiently tricking you and Ashleigh into thinking that I'm napping. I can't believe you guys actually think I could nap for two hours. I can barely rest for ten minutes. There is a lot to be done still, and I'm starting to worry I won't have time for it all. In a way, I'm glad I have cancer instead of a surprise death such as a car crash. I know I'm going to die, and I have enough time to make sure everything is in place for when I go. Death isn't scary for me at this point, Calvin. It's comforting. I hate feeling weighed down with all of this pain. Nothing I take works anymore; I just try to grin through the pain. Despite it all, I'm glad you and Ash convinced me to do what I did. The treatment was worth the extra time, I'll admit it. God, I'm one of the people who makes last confessions in a letter. Scary thought.

Now that I have got some stuff off my chest, I wanted to thank you. Thank you for being a good friend no matter what the circumstances. When we decided to rush different houses, we thought it would be impossible to remain friends. Now here we are, twelve years later, graduated from CRU and still friends. You always seemed to know how to maintain the perfect balance between fraternity and friends, a skill I've always admired. Thank you for being the peacemaker, whether it was a fight between me and Dale or me and Casey. There's a lot more that I could thank you for, but I have little paper and almost no time.

Now onto the advice. I don't know if anyone is actually following the advice I've given out, but I hope they are. Life is too short to make any stupid mistakes. A little good advice now and then can buy you that time back. So here's your advice: Stop living in the past. I know it's probably hard living in the apartment alone, so move out or get a roommate. Go into my room and throw whatever you don't want to keep away. Start making it your apartment. I want you guys to remember me, but I don't want to hold you back. Burn this letter if you need to. Then go out and meet some new people. Go on a date with a total stranger. Get out of your comfort zone, Calvin. It will do you a lot of good. But don't lose who you are in the process. It's okay to go back to your roots.

Take care of yourself, man. Watch over my sister and niece for me. Tell Alana how much I love her. Keep our little family intake. And make sure Ashleigh doesn't break Beaver's heart to badly, alright? I'll miss you guys.

Sincerely,

Rusty

Calvin put down the letter. His emotions were as mixed up as the alcohol in the punch at a KT party. On one hand, the letter made him sad. Had Rusty really been in that much pain that he was looking forward to death? Calvin felt bad for not noticing that. He knew his friend had been in pain, but he didn't now the meds hadn't been working for that long. On the other hand, Calvin was angry. Angry that Rusty hadn't filled him and Ashleigh in on all the big last-minute plans he had made. They were the ones looking out for him after all, though Calvin did understand why Rusty didn't fill Ashleigh in. She had been so optimistic that Rusty was going to recover, and no one wanted to upset her by talking about funerals and wills. Rusty must've felt like he owed it to Ashleigh to at least pretend like he thought he was going to live. By looking at the bank statements, Calvin realized that Rusty knew he was going to die the day he was diagnosed. He himself gave up hope the day treatment stopped working. A question kept nagging him in the back of the head. Why did he choose Grace for such a big job? The couple had broken up soon after Rusty was diagnosed. The girl knew none of the CRU gang; she was an outsider. Calvin was one of them, and he could be trusted. Still, he knew that his friend must've had a reason. Rusty did nothing without a reason. Maybe it was for Grace, Calvin pondered. Part of Rusty's goodbye to her could be tied into her job.

Taking his friend's advice, Calvin went into the kitchen and grabbed two garbage bags. He walked into Rusty's room and started sorting through all of his stuff. Calvin made three piles: Keep, Charity, and Gifts. He knew Rusty wrote down the gifter's name on anything he received. Calvin intended to give back every single gift. Most of Rusty's clothes and stuff would go to charity. It wasn't complete closure, but it was a start. And Calvin suspected that was what his friend had truly wanted for him. A start.


	14. Beaver's Letter

Beaver smiled as he wiped down the bar's countertop. The last few months with Ashleigh had been great. He still couldn't believe she was his girlfriend and would openly admit to that in public. It seemed like only last week she was calling him out on his perverted date lines. Wait, that was last week… Regardless, Beaver knew he owed this all to Spitter. Rusty's letter had convinced Ashleigh to go out with him. He didn't know what that letter said since Ashleigh wouldn't let him read it, but whatever was in it had changed his life. Beaver laughed to himself. Spitter was making sure that they were all taken care of even in death.

Even if the passing of Rusty had led to good things for him, Beaver still missed his friend. He didn't know where all the time had gone. He remembered the day when they were all debating which pledges to take, and Cappie had suggested Rusty. It was probably the first time the KTs all agreed on a pledge. Whether it was because they were too hangover or that they all thought it would be fun to corrupt the freshman the world will never know. Rusty was Spitter the minute he became a pledge, and that had never changed. The night he had won his Noble Prize, Rusty had invited his KT brothers to come with him. They had all shouted, "You go, Spits!", gaining the stares of the entire scientific community and all the other guests. But that was who Rusty was to them. He wasn't some pretentious scientist with numerous awards and discoveries. To the KTs, he'd always simply be Spitter, the beer bong prodigy and the guy who made it rain. Personally, Beaver thought that was a much better legacy than the first one.

"Beav!" He snapped out of his thoughts to see Wade waving the phone at him. "It's your girlfriend who continues to make me lose ten dollars to Jeremy every week," his friend snapped.

"You guys still have that pool?" Beaver asked suspiciously. He had told the guys to knock it off, but it was in the KT nature not to listen.

"No…" Wade trailed off. He put a hand behind his ear as if he were listening for someone. "Coming Jeremy!" he shouted, running into the backroom. Beaver rolled his eyes and picked up the phone.

"Hey, Ash," he said casually, picking up the receipts Wade had left on a nearby table and started to sort through them. It was in the middle of the day, so there were almost no customers.

"Hey, Charlie," Ashleigh replied, using the nickname she had come up with from his real name. Beaver hated it.

"What's up?" Beaver asked after realizing that his girlfriend wanted him to ask. After all these years, he was finally starting to figure out girls. Like for example, when a girl tells you that she doesn't want a birthday gift, it means that she doesn't want to have to tell you to get her a birthday gift. It shouldn't be something you need to be reminded of. Knowing all this new information, Beaver realized why none of his friends had never been able to keep a girlfriend.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to have a romantic dinner at my place…" she trailed off innocently. Beaver smirked. He knew what "romantic dinner" was code for. It was code for "eat take out and have sex", which worked in his book.

"Depends. Are you going to be cooking this meal?" he asked cautiously. Beaver had tried Ashleigh's cooking once. The crap they made pledges eat for rush was more appetizing than the meal she served him. Of course, being a good boyfriend, he didn't spit it out until she turned around.

Beaver swore he could hear Ashleigh glaring over the phone. "No," she replied coolly. "I was thinking of getting Lifia's." He perked up at this. Lifia was the best Greek restaurant in the state, and it just happened to be five minutes away from Ashleigh's apartment. Just another plus of dating her.

"Have I mentioned you're a goddess lately?" Beaver tried to sweet-talk. He remembered hearing Cappie say that the sure way to get a woman out of a fight was to compliment something about her.

Beaver knew that, if he had been in the same room as her, he'd see Ashleigh rolling her eyes. "No, you haven't. But you can over dinner tonight? 8 sharp work?"

"Yep. See you then. Bye, babe."

"Okay. See you later. Bye!" Beaver hung up the phone, only to turn around an actual paying customer. It was a woman a little younger than him with short brown hair and tan skin that indicated she was from out of town. No one ever tanned in Ohio. While the state's weather never seemed to actually change, it was never that warm.

Grace looked around the bar that was the background of so many of Rusty's stories. It seemed like a bigger than life place to her. It was odd to be standing in the place he had been in so many times and experienced some many things. Grace turned around to see the big guy behind the bar staring at her. Guessing from the pictures she'd seen, this was Beaver. Rusty's description of him seemed to fit somewhat, but Grace could tell he'd changed since his friend's death. In a way, they all had. "Are you Beaver?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, how can I help you?" he asked, wiping the counter. Beaver didn't bother to look up.

"Well, I'd like a Bloody Mary extra strong," Grace ordered. She usually didn't drink in the middle of the day, but she figured it would help take the edge off. And if there was anything Grace had been lately, it was on edge.

Beaver went to work on the drink. Grace tapped her nails against the bar, watching him work. "This is a nice bar," she commented casually.

"Thanks. I used to come here in college a lot, and then my friend bought the place and let a couple of us guys run it," Beaver told her, trying to keep it vague. In reality, Rusty had saved them all from unemployment. Working at Dobbler's was perfect work for Beaver, Wade, and Jeremy. The hours were the ones they usually kept anyways, and making drinks was a skill all KTs possess. Rusty was a very hands-off owner, letting his employees do their jobs. Surprisingly, the profits of the bar tripled from what they had been. This meant the three guys were doing very well.

"That sounds like a nice friend," Grace stated blankly.

"He was a good friend and fraternity brother." Beaver paused for a moment. "He died from long cancers a few months ago, and none of us have gotten over the shock of it yet. He left a few of us guys the bar, so we're just trying to "

Grace nodded. She understood exactly what he was saying. People said that after you lost someone, it would get easier every day. But, for Grace, it just got harder every time she woke up. "Well, I bet he is proud of you wherever he is." She looked down at her now empty glass. "How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing. You listened to me ramble. That's payment enough," Beaver responded kindly. Grace gave him a sad smile that doubled as a thank you. She left the envelope on the counter. Grace was already out the door and in her car before Beaver noticed the envelope sitting there.

He considered running out and giving it to the girl before noticing his name was on it. In Rusty's handwriting. Beaver was in a state of shock. This was his letter. He had actually gotten a letter. He carefully opened it, trying not to rip the mail inside like he usually did. He read it to himself. It said:

Dear Beaver,

I'm currently watching some really bad CRU football. I mean, did they suck this much when we were in school? Then again, I guess the answer is no since they had you on the team. Do you remember that pledge Andy? I actually ran into him the other day. He and that girl Jordan managed to make it work, and they have three kids. He certainly let himself go to say the very least.

I know by now everyone is waiting for a letter with profound advice for them. Truth be told, my advice isn't that ground-breaking. Everything I've written could be discovered by the person themselves. Of course, most people don't try to look at their flaws too hard. I don't know where I found this quote, but it's a good one. "It's often said that, no matter the truth, people see what they want to see. Some people might take a step back and find out they were looking at the same picture all along. Some people might see that their lies have almost caught up to them. Some people might see what was there all along. And then there are those other people, the ones who run as far as they can so they don't have to look at themselves." Fortunately, I've had a lot of time to take a step back and look at myself and the people a love.

Here's your piece of advice. Don't grow up too much. I know it's weird advice considering the fact that everyone's always telling you to grow up more. Now that you've proven you're an adult, however, no more growing up is necessary. I'm not telling you to go do something stupid that will make Ashleigh yell. I'm simply telling you that, without some of your more child-like qualities, our group is boring. If everyone starts acting mature and adult, the whole group will fall apart. We need to keep some fun and laughter there. I want Alana to grow up remembering what it's like to laugh. Trust me, laughing is very important. I've seen what happens to people who suck all the joy out of their lives. They die alone and depressed. Oh, and if you're with Ashleigh as I assume you are, tell her those three words. I know it's hard, but I have a feeling she'll say them back. Love is a great thing, Beav. Never be afraid of it.

Thank you for being such a good friend. Keep the smiles going. Take care of Ashleigh, or I'll figure out how to haunt you from my grave. Just kidding. Maybe…

Your favorite KT brother,

Rusty

Beaver put down the letter and smiled. It was good to have someone telling him to stop growing up for a change. He decided to make sure everyone stayed them. There would always be laughter and love in their group as long as Beaver had anything to say about it. He also decided to follow Rusty's other piece of advice. Beaver loved Ashleigh, and he suspected she loved him too. Plus, he really didn't want Rusty's ghost haunting him. That would be creepy.


	15. Rebuilding Vesuvius

***Okay, so I know I said that Rusty wrote a letter to each of his KT brothers, but that would take a lot of time, and I'm running out of ideas for these letters. The other KT letters will be mentioned but never actually read. And I'm also cutting Evan and Rebecca out because I rlly can't think of reason he would send them a letter. Sorry if I confused anyone!**

It was a happy and sad day for the Kappa Taus. It was a happy day because the great Vesuvius was officially rebuilt, and there was a huge party planned. The current actives were all pumped about the alumni coming since they wanted to show up the changes to the house. With the new trust fund, they'd been able to do all the repairs that had been piling up, get a new flat screen TV, build in an intercom system to annoy fellow brothers with, and stock up on booze. At the same time, it was a sad day because everyone knew which alumnus wasn't going to be there. Rusty's death had been hard on the KTs. He was probably the house's favorite alumni. The guy had left them over a million dollars after all. The former KT president was like one of the guys. He went to Dobblers with them and did shots, helped haze new pledges, and gave out advice on nearly everything. Girls, school, life in general… You name it, he had advice for it. And the KTs would've traded all the money Rusty left them to have him hang out with them again.

"Pledges! Please report to Scooby for party assignments! Again, pledges, please report to Scooby for party assignments!" the president of Kappa Tau, Holes, announced over the intercom system. The junior smiled. The new intercom system made it so much easier to boss the pledges around. They no longer had to use the ancient bullhorn first bought by Egyptian Joe's big brother, who happened to be coming to the party. Three generations of Kappa Taus were going to be revisiting the fraternity, which meant that it was going to be a stellar party. They could have nothing less.

"Hey, Holes! Where should I put the ice?" a pledge, Little Caesar, asked panting as he carried the huge bags of ice.

"In the ice bucket. Is the block of ice ready?" Holes inquires. The scrawny art major nodded. "Go get me my chainsaw," he instructed. Little Caesar ran upstairs.

Meanwhile, the graduated KTs were just arriving on campus. Cappie and Casey arrived first. They gave Alana a tour of the school. The little girl was fascinated about the place that was the backdrop for so many of her uncle's story. She got to see the ZBZ house, the science lab, and the Omega Chi House. "I want to see the Kappa Tau house," she kept demanding. Cappie took one look at his daughter's pout and gave in. Leaving Casey at the ZBZ house, the father and daughter headed over to the party. Alana squealed in delight as they walked up to the KT house. Cappie was surprised to see how much the house had changed since his last visit a few months ago. The shingles on the roof had been repaired, the house repainted, and the garden replanted. Stepping into the house, he also noticed that the fire alarms had been fixed and a new intercom system in place. To his pleasure, there was also a flat screen TV in the living room. "Cappie!" He turned around to see Holes, the president of Kappa Tau. "Nice to see ya!" The dreadlocked psychology major looked down at Alana. "And just who is this cutie?" he comments cheerfully. The little brown-haired girl smiled bashfully at him.

"This is my daughter, Alana," Cappie explained with a smile. Holes looks at Alana with wide eyes.

"So you're the famous Alana?" he exclaimed with an exaggerated facial expression, causing her to giggle. "Well, your uncle talked about you a lot. He told me that if you ever came to our humble house, I was to give you the grand tour." Holes knelt down. "Hop on, my lady."

Alana looked over at her dad. "Daddy, can I?" the little girl begged with puppy dog eyes and the pout she had inherited from her mother. Cappie nodded his head yes, and she hopped on Holes back. Making plane noises, he ran her around the house. Cappie went into the living room and had a beer with some of the actives.

The party wasn't in full swing until eight o'clock. By then, everyone had arrived. Thankfully, the girls had come over from the ZBZ house with food to balance out all the alcohol. Cappie and Casey each had a few drinks and were having fun dancing. It was like they were college students again. Alana was kept entrained by a few of the pledges who were fascinated by the mini genius. Beaver and Ashleigh were making out in the corner. She didn't know about the ring in his pocket. Calvin was talking to his ex-boyfriend Heath, who had flown in from California for the occasion. The two were having a good time catching up. Dale was debating the Old Testament with the house's religious freak, Judas. Rusty's pledge brothers were engaged in an intense game of beer bong. Around eleven o'clock, Holes signaled for his fellow actives to quiet everyone down. Once it was quiet, he began talking. "Hey, everyone, I just wanted to say thank you for coming to this party. I hope you all are having fun." There was loud cheering at the last statement. Holes waited for it to quiet down again before continuing. "We are here tonight for two reasons. The first reason is to celebrate the rebuilding of the great volcano Vesuvius." There was even more intense cheering that time, especially from Egyptian Joe. "And the second reason, the much more serious reason, is to honor a brother who is sadly no longer with us." It got eerily quiet. "Rusty Cartwright was a great example of what a Kappa Tau brother should be: fun, loyal, and willing to stand up for change. He carved out his own path instead of letting others pick it for him. Whether it was standing up against the house's president or telling a brother the truth, Rusty was always willing to do the right thing. His last request was that I share his words with you."

The KT president cleared his throat and started to read. "Dear Holes, I am currently sitting in the living writing this letter while watching Gizard fail at playing Kappa Tau Towers. Why doesn't anybody realize you can't a bra on top? It just doesn't balance right. Anyways, I'm writing this not as a goodbye or to give you advice. I'm writing this to share some of my thoughts with you.

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about life after death. I'm not talking about heaven or hell. I'm talking your legacy on Earth. What happens when you die? How long will you be remembered? Is it different for certain people? Now, as I approach the end of my life, I know these answers. When someone dies, they're never completely gone. The memory of them still lingers. Whether it be an idea or a phrase or even a dance move, they still exist. What really matter is what you're remembered for. I don't want to be remembered as Rusty Cartwright, the award-winning engineer. I want to be remembered as Spitter, the KT brother who always had time and advice for his brother, the one who could always come up with a solution. If that is the legacy I leave when I die, I'll be eternally happy wherever I end up.

Take good care of the house. Get Heath to teach Gizard how to play Kappa Tau Towers correctly. Don't let all the money go to your head. And most importantly, have a kick-ass time at the Vesuvius party. Your KT brother, Spitter."

Holes looked up at his audience. Casey was wiping happy tears away from her eyes while Cappie looked proud. "And now we dedicate this volcano to Rusty. Long live Spitter!" he toasted. Everyone raised up their cups and drank in their friend's honor. Holes signaled to TMNT, their engineering major who had done most of the work rebuilding the volcano, to turn it on. Everyone watched and cheered as the volcano erupted beer. Alana watched with fascination from inside as the volcano soaked everyone outside. No one noticed Grace watching from the sidewalk.


	16. Grace's Letter

**Hey! This is the last chapter of RL, and I just want to thank all of my reviewers! You guys are amazing! *virtually hugs all of my reviewers* I loved hearing ur inputs and encouragements! I hope u guys love the last chapter! Thanks for taking the time to read, review, and favorite this story. **

Grace smiled at the sight of the happy Kappa Taus. The party was exactly how Rusty would've wanted it to be. There was beer bong, an ice luge, and body shots. There were also various games of Kappa Tau Towers going on everywhere. She had never understood the point of that game. Rusty told her he and Health had come up with the game one afternoon when they were bored. It continued on for three and a half hours. "The trick," Rusty had told her, "is all in what you put on the top. Everyone always goes for a bra, but it just doesn't balance right. I like to use Silly Putty at the top. Fun to smush on there and lightweight." Grace had laughed at him at the time. Now she wished more than anything he was in that party showing the actives how it was done. She did, however, get a good laugh in watching Heath trying to teach Gizard how to play properly.

Grace looked around the party for the people she had delivered letters to. Alana was playing scientist with some of the pledges. They had to act like animals and fight each other to test animal behavioral patterns, or at least that's what she had heard the little girl say. Grace had a sneaking suspicion she was just helping the actives haze the pledges. Rusty had always told her his niece had more Cappie in her than anyone realized. Casey and Cappie were snuggled together in a hammock a few feet away from their daughter. Casey looked surprisingly serene with her eyes closed and head laying against Cappie's chest. Grace noticed how Cappie brushed the stray hairs out of Casey's face and felt a sharp pain in her chest. Rusty used to do the same thing to her. Shaking off the memories engulfing her, she turned to see Ashleigh being spun around by Beaver. As crazy as that coupling actually sounded, it seemed to work. Beaver kept Ashleigh laughing, and Ashleigh made Beaver a little more mature. And then there was Dale. Grace cracked up laughing when she saw Dale drinking from the ice luge. At that moment, she had really wished Rusty had been alive simply so he could've seen his best friend drink from an ice luge. Calvin was nearby listening to the actives and pledges tell their funniest stories about Rusty. Grace could only imagine what those stories were like. It truly was the perfect party. All the people Rusty truly loved were present at Kappa Tau honoring his memory. Grace knew nothing would've made him prouder.

Knowing her work was done, she slowly started to walk towards her car which was parked way down by the Omega Chi house. Finally arriving at her car, Grace got in and turned it on. She sat there in silence for a few minutes before pulling at an envelope with her name written on it. She fingered it gently. It was Rusty's handwriting. It felt warm and familiar. Grace hesitated. She honestly couldn't decide whether to open up the envelope or not. On one hand, it doesn't even make a difference. Rusty is dead. He'll never know if she never read it. It's not like his ghost would come back from the dead to haunt her or anything.

On the other hand, Grace knew it would be disrespecting Rusty's memory if she just threw out the letter. Clearly, she had delivered all those letters for a reason. The people she had delivered them to had opened them for a reason. And now it was her turn. Grace took a deep breathe before gently opening the envelope, careful not to rip it. She was intent on saving as many of Rusty's things as possible. She slowly pulled the letter out and on smoothed it down. It said:

Dear Grace,

There are many things I would like to say to you in this letter, and I don't know if I'm going have enough time for them all, but I'll try. The first thing would probably be thank you. Thank you for finally giving into my relentless charm and going out on a date with me. Thank you for not slugging me for saying that I already had three important ladies in my life. Thank you for sticking with me despite all my obnoxious qualities. (Not that you don't possess anyone because you do, but this is supposed to be a thank you.) Thank you for making me a better man. Thank you for making me laugh and just enjoy life when I felt like it was passing me by. Thank you for taking my stubborn butt to a doctor, and thank you for trying to stay by my side even when I was pushing you away. Finally, thank you for the big favor I know you're doing now that I'm dead.

Now that I've got the thank yous out of the way, I can start with the apologies. I know you don't blame me for any of this, but I still need to apologize anyway. I'm sorry for getting sick and dragging you into the mess that is my life. I'm sorry for pushing you away when you were only trying to help me, and I'm sorry for letting you go. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to live, and I'm sorry I had to leave you behind. I'm sorry I had to give you the hardest job I could think of. I'm sorry I can't give you that fairytale life we talked about. Nice house, kids, a dog… I'm so sorry, Grace.

I love you, Grace, and since I love you, I'm going to give you some advice. Please let me go. I want you to fall in love again with a guy who treats you like a queen, and I want you two to have kids and grow old together. I want you to only think of me once a while and very fondly. I want you to do whatever will make you happy in your life and just light the world on fire. Just remember one thing: I love you, and I'll love you no matter where I am.

Love,

Rusty

Grace put the letter down and just started crying. She cried and cried until every car by her had left the grounds. Once she finished crying, Grace got out a lighter and burned Rusty's letter. She took a shaky deep breath and exhaled. Living without Rusty would be hard, sure, but not impossible. Nothing was impossible. She was going to listen to Rusty and set the world on fire. And who knew? Maybe she would fall in love again. Or maybe she wouldn't. Either way, Grace felt a great burden lift off her shoulders. With a new sparkling confidence, she drove off the Cyprus Rhodes campus and towards her future. Rusty had left his legacy in all of them, and Grace was going to live her life to the fullest. For him.


End file.
